Laura Mitchell – Covid-19 Matron at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Laura is a Covid-19 Matron at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). Before the pandemic she worked as an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP), and previous to that she was a Team Leader of ENT Theatres based at the QMC Campus.

How have you been supporting the Covid-19 vaccine programme?
“The Trust’s Deputy Chief Nurse, Scott Purser, and Clinical Support Divisional Lead Nurse, Sue Chisholm, approached me regarding getting involved in the vaccination clinics for NUH and the wider Nottinghamshire system. We administer hundreds of vaccinations a day across the county.”

What have you enjoyed most about being involved in the vaccination programme?
“It’s amazing to have been involved with the vaccination hub as an Operating Department Practitioner. This is the first opportunity that ODPs have had to vaccinate as a HCPC Registered Professional, so I feel privileged to have been part of the NUH vaccination programme.

“It’s been quite an emotional journey for many patients and staff that have been affected by the Covid-19 era.  The Discharge Lounge team and all the staff from pharmacy, domestics, digital services, estates and NUH Leadership have been amazing and have thrown themselves into the mass vaccination project making it the success that it has been.

“I personally was redeployed to Critical Care during wave one and wave two, so this felt like a positive step to help reduce hospital admissions. Staff have given up a lot over the last year; leaving their homes to live in flats/hotels, working additional hours and being redeployed to areas that they are less familiar with.  The vaccination hub has always had a great buzz from both staff and patients and it has been extremely rewarding.”