Stenhousemuir dentist joins 50 colleagues to support COVID vaccination programme

Dr Gillian Lennox, of Forth Valley Smile Design, is only too happy to be lending a helping hand to the NHS and administering Covid-19 vaccines at the town’s Forth Valley College campus.

She has just completed her first week in the role.

She said: “There was a recruitment drive in Forth Valley to ask dentists to help out with the vaccination programme.

“So far, 50 of us have taken part. It’s such rewarding work.

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“The inoculation gets us all a bit closer to getting our lives back. That’s why there’s such a drive to take part.

“It’s all organised by NHS Forth Valley and you work wherever the shifts are available.

“Hospital dentists are also helping. The maxillofacial department, orthodontists and public dental service have been vaccinating the most vulnerable patients in the hospital – such as people waiting for kidney transplants.

“There’s been over 105 in-patients that hospital dentists have helped, so that ha taking the pressure off other departments.”

She added: “It’s not just us general practitioners doing our bit - it’s a big team effort.”

The number of Scots given their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine has now reached almost 840,000 – with the number of initial jabs given in one day passing 50,000 for the first time.

New figures released by the Scottish Government show 839,266 people have now had their first jab.

The record was welcomed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who revealed Scotland was “on track to hit all targets” in its campaign which aims to reach some 4.4 million adults.

The speed at which the vaccines are being administered locally has also impressed Dr Lennox.

She said: “The pace of the programme has really speeded up.

“It’s running seven days a week from 8am until 8pm. It’s like a conveyor belt and as quick as we can get them in.

“They’ve got to wait 15 minutes before they go. At the moment we’re doing the 70-plus age group, and they are all very grateful.

“For a lot of them, it’s the first time they’ve been out.”

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