Bus service brought in transport Hartlepool home care workers for covid vaccines to help protect them and the older people they care for

Vehicles for the on demand Tees Flex bus service will be employed to help people who are supporting the elderly and vulnerable get the coronavirus vaccination.

It is after Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen teamed up with Hartlepool Borough Council and bus company Stagecoach North East to support the local vaccination effort.

The vehicles will be used to enable home care workers from the town to get to the University Hospital of North Tees for their jabs.

Mayor Houchen said: “With three vaccines now going into people’s arms, there really is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Getting the vaccination into the arms of everyone who needs it is a national effort the likes of which we’ve not seen since the Second World War, that’s why I am doing all I can to support efforts locally; to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible.

“What better way to us to use some of the buses from our Tees Flex fleet than to support the vaccination effort.”

During the first wave of the virus Mayor Houchen worked with the hospital trust to use the Tees Flex buses to help vulnerable patients travel to and from hospital for free.

Councillor Shane Moore, Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said of the latest move: “Home care workers are doing a fantastic job supporting our elderly and vulnerable residents, so we are delighted to be working with the Mayor and Stagecoach North East to use the buses to help them get quickly and easily to North Tees for their coronavirus vaccination.”

David John Parker, Stagecoach North East, added: “We’re really pleased to be delivering this bespoke transport solution with Tees Flex.

"This facility ensures the timely vaccination of home care workers, which in turn significantly assists in the wider program for our communities.”

Last month, Mayor Houchen urged people from across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool to join a ‘Jabs Army’ of volunteers to help out at local vaccination centres.

He also urged businesses to guarantee time off for staff who want to volunteer as stewards at centres.

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