Staff on University Hospital North Midlands' pharmacy team have been recognised for their outstanding work supporting the delivery and administration of the Pfizer BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine.

UHNM was one of the first 50 hospital vaccination hubs to open in England and with local health workers and over-80-year-olds eligible, the rollout of the vaccine presented an enormous logistical challenge to staff around the trust.

Staff on the pharmacy team have gone above and beyond their usual duties, with some even starting work at 5am to support the defrosting of the vaccine so clinics could start at 9am.

Of the 4,000 doses of the vaccine that were delivered before Christmas, a significant number were prescribed by pharmacists. The pharmacy teams trained staff of all grades to administer the vaccine, even including hospital Chief Executive Tracy Bullock.

The Independent Prescribers team and the Manufacturing, Clinical Trials and Quality Assurance team have each been recognised for their contribution with a Team of the Month award.

Sue Thomson, Clinical Director of Pharmacy, said: "I am really proud of the whole team and the efforts we have undertaken during the pandemic. The teams have worked hard and at pace to develop the quality and governance framework which has enabled us to be an approved site, with prescribers undertaking national training modules and volunteering for additional shifts.

"The pharmacy manufacturing team have supported the cold chain and logistics of vaccine delivery and have been making pre-filled syringes of insulin to support the nursing team in Critical Care by releasing time to care.

"Finally, our clinical trials team have supported all of the medicines-related Covid clinical trials in the trust, working closely with the research team and clinicians so that new treatment options can be made available in a timely manner."

Ruth Bednall, Principal Clinical Pharmacist, said: "Throughout this period our independent prescribers supported the vaccine delivery by assessing recipient suitability and prescribing to facilitate administration of the vaccine.

"These staff had to undertake specific training to equip themselves with the skills to safely prescribe these vaccines. They also buddied up with colleagues who were less experienced to support them.

"The team have delivered prescribing sessions in addition to their normal clinical duties, many of them working late and giving up time from annual leave and weekends with their families.

"Working with little and ever changing information, the manufacturing, clinical trials and quality assurance team initiated a wide range of standard operating procedures to cover the receipt, handling, storage, monitoring, issue, preparation and administration of the vaccine.

"They maintained version control and quality assurance of the process throughout and have had to learn how to handle products stored at -70C, with the associated health and safety precautions.

"The team prepared and temperature-mapped fridges across the trust to ensure safe storage of the vaccine whilst in use and ensured appropriately trained vaccinators were available to support the programme.

"Over and above this, a further smaller cohort of staff started work at 5.30am on multiple occasions to thaw and pack down the vaccine."