Relief as chilly jab centre in Walsall to get new heating system
A new £16,000 heating system is to be installed at Walsall's main walk-in vaccination centre after nurses were left working in cold conditions.
Temporary heaters were installed in the Saddlers Centre unit formerly occupied by high street retailers TJ Hughes and Argos.
Some NHS staff and volunteers were spotted working with their coats on last week after the heating system broke down.
The shopping centre is owned by Walsall Council.
Tory council leader Mike Bird said: "I'm aware the heating has broken down. We have instructed our officers to replace the heating system as a matter of urgency. It's going to cost us about £16,000 to get it done.
"The unit is leased by the NHS, but I think the vaccination programme is more important than worrying about who's going to pay for the new heating system.
"My cabinet members are in support of the move and of course the programme which must not have any hurdles put in its way.
"We have put in the temporary heaters in the centre working in conjunction with the NHS.
"We'll talk about who is footing the bill later on. At the end of the day the council owns the building, although it wasn't our decision to purchase it."
A spokesperson for the Saddlers Vaccination Centre said: “Staff in our vaccination centre have been working incredibly hard over the past year and their welfare is our priority.
"Following an issue with heating, we have installed temporary heaters while we await the repair of the centre’s permanent heating system.”
The previously Labour-led council purchased the shopping centre four years ago for £13.8m as an investment.
