Rachel is a volunteer at Downham, Lewisham Hospital, St. Johns, and the Waldron.
I had so much annual leave to take, and in January 2021 we weren’t supposed to travel or leave our locality unnecessarily. When the opportunity came up to volunteer at the vaccination centres I jumped at it. Little did I realise at the time quite how inspiring and exhilarating this would be, and how quickly reliable teams can be built.
My first shift was particularly memorable after almost 10 months of seeing very few people, to be surrounded by so many — and also to have to overcome the new inhibition of keeping a distance from the over-80s whom I was trying to help out of cars just showed what an impact the pandemic and the lockdown measures had. It was a proper wartime spirit.
Since then it has been great to meet other volunteers and health care professionals but also to learn more about Lewisham borough, its residents, different generations and cultures, attitudes, and apprehension towards vaccinations.