How are people’s vaccinator job applications going?

[JacobReesMogadishu]

We had a previous thread which I’ve lost. So after originally filling out the form to register my interest in Nov with NHSP and being told I’d hear back within 7 days I only got a link to fill out a proper appt a few days ago.

Done the application now and been told to wait to hear if I’m successful or not. I can really only weekends as I have a substantive 9-5 job to do but hopefully they will want all hands on deck and not turn a registered HCP who knows how to wield a needle away!

@HildegardNightingalethank you, slightly nervous, but will feel better once I've done it, I'm sure!

Just had a call from local trust. Applied through NHSP end dec. I’m an ex nurse but not practiced for 15 years. She said the trust are not currently using non registered HCP but this is likely to change in the near future. She offered me a HCA role so I’m in the system if and when things change. She sounded very frustrated with the whole system and how it varies across the country. I’m not surprised as was expecting this after reading this thread. It will be good to be involved in some positive way anyway. Good luck everyone I had completed given up hope.

Thanks cookerhood. Sounds as though worth retrying. I'm going to have to be more patient
Just want to get started!

@Beemail1 everyone seems to have problems with GRS you just have to keep trying!

I am a volunteer for SJA (non vaccinator role). Applied also for NHS non registered vaccinator role, did F2F training etc and have now got login details. Have been able to book on for quite a few shifts via my local trust (London). Fingers crossed for everyone else currently waiting!

Only advocate shifts available here (East Kent) so although I trained as a vaccinator, I will do those. Some people are literally doing shifts 7 days per week and some 12 hours per day. Not really fair.

I finally set foot in a vaccination centre today as a marshall (organised locally). It was lovely - lots of grateful people and cheerful staff. Great organisation. So nice to be a cog in the national effort.

I have had another e mail about vaccinating - basically a repeat of the one asking me to do e learning which I have already done but one extra course. Not sure if that means anything or not. I don't mind that much - would love to do some vaccinating but marshalling is a close second.

All our local sites (GP hubs) have suddenly stopped being on GSR - I had a few shifts lined up. Back to nothing near us. They clearly have plenty of volunteers. I'm a bit fed up with the while business tbh.

I signed up mid December in a non vaccinator role, got my Sam details early January and still not had any shifts, I did get sent a high vis jacket a month ago but still nothing. Yorkshire area, mustnt need anyone here.

Justanticipating - see if you can find out who is organising the volunteers at your local hubs. They are not all using the Royal Voluntary Service. You may be able to offer your services directly. I am on Good Sam too but both the local GPs and the big hub had their own system and there has been nothing on the app.

I have just been invited for IM training next week. So pleased. And I have a different e mail address to send proof of all my e learning so they can update their system as they seem to only be able to see half of it which is perhaps why it has taken so long.

Progress?

Finally have f/f training tomorrow for vaccination care volunteer via sja. I initially applied in early January and this is pretty much the first localish training that has come up (I’m on the edge of a major city 🙄)

Having read stories on here I am not that optimistic about getting any actual volunteering done and have found the online training an administrative nightmare with passwords etc so not overly impressed so far. However it will be nice to get out of the house and do sthg different tomorrow!

Meanwhile I got an email from nhs jobs regarding my vaccinator application from christmas saying basically we’ve withdrawn your application. Waste of time that was then (I have no hcp experience but i specifically went down the non-hcp route which it turns out very few areas are recruiting from this pool).

Thought I would pop back to let you know how DD has got on.

Recap: DD is a 20 year old humanities student who applied to be a vaccinator in late December. She did:
Online training (30 modules)
Applied via the NHS to be a paid vaccinator
Had four references taken up
Occupational health screening
DBS check
Online theory training 9.30-4.30pm
Half a day face to face training
2 hours basic life support.

She qualified on 24th Feb and got her first shift as a Health Care Assistant at a mass vaccination hub on 26th Feb. That day they vaccinated her, did her vaccinator competencies and had her vaccinating all morning! (So paid as a HCA, but did the vaccinator role).

Since then she has managed to get a couple of shifts each week. Last weekend she worked 18 hours and has probably vaccinated over 1000 people since she started in her role. She has worked between two hubs and fitted her shifts around online university work. She loves meeting people and is has a great rapport with her colleagues- ex- medics, cabin crew, cruise liner workers, botox technician and a mountain rescue first aider!

She is vaccinating until 8pm tonight and managed to get spare doses for both myself and husband at the end of one of her shifts. Apparently if a vial is opened it has to be used within 15 minutes, so when it goes quiet they are often under pressure to find people to vaccinate so doses don't go to waste.

After doing all the online training and being successful through the stages. I had given bank details, uniform size and was awaiting an email in regard to instructions for a photo ID. This was 3 weeks ago. Today I had a generic email saying I am no longer needed. I'm so annoyed. Soooo much time spent on this with online training, references etc etc I will post some of the email.

With the vaccination programme reaching the important milestone of having offered the first dose to everyone in the top nine priority groups, we have reviewed the recruitment pipeline with the NHS to ensure local Trusts have the right levels of staff for the months ahead.

As such, there is no need for further workforce at this time and your application will therefore not be progressed. We understand that many applicants were keen to play their part in the vaccination programme and this news may therefore be disappointing.

On behalf of the NHS and the COVID-19 vaccination programme, thank you again for your application.

I applied months ago, forgot about it and then had a conditional offer letter emailed to me about 2 weeks ago. I've completed my main training (a 1-day course that covered everything the theory/practical/e-learning covered), and have my life support training tonight. I'm then ready to go, although they warned us that there won't be tonnes of bank shifts available in April due to the AZ shortage.

N.B - this is as an immuniser

I've been getting information from a local trust for repeat information over the last couple of weeks and then today got 2 emails: 1. Thanks, but no thanks as per @PachinkoFreeFood. 2. Welcome to the bank, please apply for a login.
So now I have no idea if I should spend even more of my time responding to the email, watching the instruction video and trying to sort out details to join the bank or if it's all over.

I'll add the latest from my experience.

Applied 01/01/21 did training, OH, etc etc. Nothing. Until end of March when I was invited to F2F training.

I did that on Friday and learnt to administer injections. I still have some HR admin to sort and somehow try and organise a Hep B jab for myself.

Anyway, no one can really tell me if there are going to be any shifts available. Apparently they only have two band 3s on a shift at a time and so getting a band 3 shift is tricky.

I'm sure there must be some greater plan to have HCA vaccinating else why go to such lengths to recruit and train? I will update if I hear anymore.

@Olympicfan's daughter seems to be the only person getting regular shifts. I hope that's changed and more ppl on this thread are.

Also, lastly a little whinge from me. I didn't realise I had to pay for my own DBS check. £45 out of wages. I admit to being quite pissed off about that. I've worked in the NHS for many years, in many roles and have never had to pay for this. £45 is a lot of money from a band 3 hourly pay - anyone else have this? I literally had no idea until I sent the trust my bank details for wages and I was obliged to complete a section asking me how I'd like to re-pay!

I did my practical training two weeks ago and all has gone quiet again. The still haven’t asked for a dbs check. Apparently there are hundreds of people to train which is good but surely it is a waste of time training us all if we aren’t going to be signed up to do any work.

I trained as a non reg vaccinator in February - did a couple of shifts in March and therefater have had all my shifts cancelled in April (except for one) due to the AZ shortage. We're told more shifts should become available in May and we've also been asked to do the extra online training related to the Moderna vaccine....so hopefully it will be busier soon.

I have my practical training on the 28th, and I’m told that’s it and I’m good to go! I have a badge and login for booking shifts, dbs has been done ... but there’s a shortage of vaccine so few shifts are there to be booked.

I'm pleased @Olympicfan 's DD got there in the end but for most of us it seems to have been a colossal waste of time.
I too got the same letter from NHS jobs as @PachinkoFreeFood but very luckily before I did any of the online training which I'm very pleased about.

I did succesfully apply to SJA (not as a vaccinator) but that's been an administrative nightmare, just getting through the training etc. There's basically hardly any shifts to apply for in advance but if you're willing to drive literally anywhere you may be able to grab something at a few hours notice if you don't have any other responsibilities. The lack of forward planning (not necessarily SJA's fault) has been really worrying. I turned up to a shift that nobody had bothered to tell me was cancelled.

I did have one really good shift though (at a day's notice), where I ended up being the admin person filling in the medical records as we went through, and I really enjoyed that. The nurse I was working with however said that she and many many other HCPs (all on their days off as far as I could tell) were all knackered and weren't going to be able to do this for much longer. That implied that volunteers might be needed more as we move into summer but there's certainly no hint of that at SJA. They're only helping out a very limited number of sites at the moment yet as far as I can tell have THOUSANDS of volunteers desperate to help.

Got my letter of appointment today, NHS email account, login details to the vaccination records system am awaiting my login details to the bank booking system. Baby steps!

I've completed my first vaccinator shift this morning.
Was recruited by NHSP in early Jan, did all the online stuff and had face to face training on Tuesday and first proper using needles job today