By SARAH MATTHEWS

Wimmera frontline workers and elderly residents will have access to the COVID-19 vaccine from Monday as Lister House Medical Clinic launches phase 1b of a staged roll-out.

Lister House staff will run a new Wimmera Vaccination Clinic from Up Tempo Café and Function Centre at 4a Dimboola Road. 

Lister House chief executive Amanda Wilson said the café would continue its usual operations, with the vaccination clinic operating out of a segregated area.

“We wanted to still be able to see our regular patients at Lister House and the respiratory clinic next door, so we were on the hunt for a separate space we could use for the vaccinations,” she said.

“We were looking for a function centre to ensure we could meet social-distancing requirements and Up Tempo fit the bill. There’s plenty of space for us to run the vaccine clinic and still have the café and other facilities running as usual. 

“The vaccines will be done in a private area, but we also need a big waiting room, because we will be vaccinating between eight and 16 people an hour and they will need to wait around for 15 to 30 minutes after their vaccine.”

Mrs Wilson said Lister House leaders had made a conscious choice to keep the vaccination clinic separate from the service’s usual operations, which include a GP clinic and GP-led Horsham Respiratory Clinic. 

“A lot of other vaccination hubs will do their testing and vaccinations from the same site, but we wanted to create a separate space,” she said.

“That’s another reason we do all our COVID testing from our respiratory clinic, to keep all our patients with respiratory symptoms separate from patients in our main clinic.”

Horsham Respiratory Clinic is government-funded and aims to assess, test and treat people with mild to moderate respiratory conditions, including COVID-19, influenza and pneumonia. 

Mrs Wilson said the respiratory clinic was staffed by both GPs and nurses and opened in line with demand and staff scheduling.

“We always knew we were going to go from COVID swabbing and assessing patients with symptoms to vaccines, so now we are getting ready for that next stage in the process,” she said.

“The vaccinations are due to arrive on Friday and we will start administering them out of Up Tempo on Monday.

“It is a staged roll-out though, so people will need to check their eligibility to avoid being disappointed.”

Phase 1b is for frontline workers, including health-care workers and critical and high-risk workers such as defence, fire, police, emergency services and meat workers. 

It is also for people aged 70 or older, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people older than 55 and adults with specified medical conditions such as diabetes and respiratory disorders. 

Eligibility criteria

Mrs Wilson said people would need to provide proof of their conditions, such as a referral from their doctor, to demonstrate their eligibility.

Detailed information about roll-out phases is available online at www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/who-can-get-vaccinated#current-phase-of-rollout.

People can also use the Australian government’s online ‘eligibility checker’ at health.gov.au. 

“The vaccine is not just for Lister House patients, it’s for people throughout the whole region,” Mrs Wilson said. 

“We want to make it clear that we are here for everybody.

“The vaccines are free and will be delivered in a private, safe environment. 

“Everyone has been trained in CPR and completed the government’s mandatory vaccine program. 

“There will also be emergency facilities – we’ve got everything set up as a mobile clinic.”

Bookings for phase one COVID-19 vaccinations are essential. 

People can visit www.hotdoc.com.au/medical-centres/horsham-vic-3400/horsham-respiratory-clinic/doctors or call Lister House on 5382 0011 to book or for more information.  

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