What a year it has been

The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have faced. The impending deployment of approved vaccines presents an opportunity to return to a state of normality for everyone; although it could present challenges in general practice.

2020 has certainly been challenging, but haven't we done well. We may be exhausted, but we are resilient and willing to embrace the next chapter … COVID vaccines! Could the imminent COVID vaccine programme change the landscape of general practice and nursing forever? With legislation changes for non-clinical band 4 staff to be trained to step up to be immunisers, is there potential that this would be continued in the post-COVID world? Discussions need to be had now on how we can assure training is appropriate with a standardised competency framework that will need sign off from a supervisor – which could be general practice nurses.

As general practice nurses we are pivotal in how we communicate the benefits of having the COVID vaccine to patients and the wider population; therefore, it is vital that we are up-to-date with the constantly changing flow of information. With information changing daily we do not want to send the wrong messages and cause further confusion, leading to lack of confidence in us and the vaccines.