Swadlincote's Oakland Village has given an update on its Covid-19 vaccination site - and offered a look behind the scenes.

Patients who are registered with a GP practice in the Swadlincote areas were invited to receive the Covid-19 vaccination at Oakland Village from last weekend.

Oakland Village, a purpose-built extra care scheme in Swadlincote aiming to help its residents live life to the fullest, was identified as the best location to roll out community-based vaccinations in South Derbyshire.

Patients that are eligible to receive the vaccine, as part of the government's target to inoculate up to 15 million people in the most vulnerable groups by the middle of February, are being notified by their GPs from five local surgeries who are working collaboratively to vaccinate people within the area.

These surgeries are Woodville Surgery, Gresleydale Health Centre, Newhall Surgery, Swadlincote Surgery and Heartwood Medical Practice.

Husband and wife, Wilf and Sheila Greaves, were one of the first Oakland Village residents to receive the vaccine last Saturday (January 16).

Before receiving the vaccine Wilf said: "It gives us hope to see everyone we love and the public again, even if it's during our regular coffee mornings which I've missed."

Elaine Oughton, Scheme Manager of Oakland Village, upon seeing the delivery of the Pfizer vaccine this weekend said: "This is a great achievement for me and the team as we have all worked very hard to ensure that Oakland Village is fit for purpose and accessible to our community.

"The pandemic has really affected the commercial side of our venue so we know that with the commencement of the community vaccine programme, it will be beneficial to the whole community and to us here at Oakland Village to get Swadlincote back up and running again."

An elderly resident at Oakland Village said of the venue becoming a vaccination site: "As an older person I am looking forward to having the vaccination so that I can get out and about, so I can see my friends and family.

"I am happy it's taking place at Oakland Village, so I don't have to use public transport to go anywhere else to be vaccinated."