A Birmingham matron has written a heartfelt poem to urge people to have their COVID-19 vaccination.

Bev Baker, who is a matron for gastroenterology at UHB’s Heartlands Hospital, had COVID-19 in March and talks about her experience in a video that lasts under two minutes.

In it, she says: “I turn on my TV screen and I see my colleagues and friends who have succumbed to Covid-19, the impact of this pandemic, that it’s having on all of us, high suicide rates, domestic violence and financial fall… family and friends die and all I can do is sit home and cry.”

She urges those watching to close their eyes and reflect back to 2019… then asks them to consider having their vaccine.

The COVID-19 vaccination programme in Birmingham and Solihull began in December 2020. To date, more than 300,000 people in the region have been vaccinated, including more than 50,000 health and social care workers.

Vaccinations are available at a range of locations, including hospital hubs, GP practices, pharmacies and mass sites including Millennium Point and Villa Park.

Vaccinations are available for people in the top six priority groups - the over 60s, the clinically vulnerable, health and social care staff and care home residents and staff.

Supplies are delivered on a regular basis, with tens of thousands of people in the region receiving a vaccine every week.

Local engagement with community and faith leaders is continuing to reassure and support people to have the vaccine across all eligible groups.

For more information about the vaccine programme, please visit Birmingham & Solihull NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Service website.