Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to open its doors to NHS on Father’s Day

Following Monday’s government announcement that anyone in the UK aged 23 and over can now receive a jab, COVID-19 vaccines will be made available on either an appointment or walk-in basis between 10am – 6pm.

While the vaccine clinic takes place in our West Stand, on the other side of the stadium, the NFL Home Locker Room will host an event aimed at increasing blood donations to aid the treatment of sickle cell disease.

Members of the Black community, aged 17-66, who haven’t received a vaccine during the previous seven days, are encouraged to book an appointment to attend and donate blood.

Mass vaccination clinic

This will be our second vaccine clinic hosted at the stadium this year, once again delivered in partnership with Morris House Group Practice, based on Lordship Lane, Tottenham, and Federated4Health, the Haringey GP Federation.

Between 3,000-5,000 vaccinations are expected to be given on the day, with all attending receiving a jab appropriate to their age group.

Entry to the stadium will be gained via Paxton Terrace (see map below), which is fully wheelchair accessible via a street level lift, with a managed queuing system in place to ensure social distancing is maintained. Face masks must be worn by attendees at all times.

Vaccinations themselves will be carried out in the stadium’s West Stand Level 1 concourse, delivered by trained vaccinators from the GP vaccination sites in Haringey.

For further information on COVID-19 vaccines, visit: https://northcentrallondonccg.nhs.uk/my-health/covid-19/covid-19-vaccinations-in-north-central-london/frequently-asked-questions-faqs/

Blood donation event

Our stadium joins other venues across London, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester to host events over the weekend of World Sickle Cell Awareness Day (19 June) and Father’s Day (20 June), encouraging more people from the Black community to become blood donors.

The appeal by United by Blood, a coalition comprising ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust), Black Mums Upfront and Cell Fe For Life, supported by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), is being launched in memory of Evan Nathan Smith - a young Black man who died following a sickle cell crisis.

Sickle cell is treated with blood transfusions and is the fastest growing genetic condition in the UK, with 15,000 existing patients and 300 babies born with sickle cell each year.

Donors from the Black and mixed Black communities are urgently needed as they are more likely to have Ro, the blood type needed to treat patients suffering from the complications of sickle cell disease. Ro blood is ten times more common in Black people.

The event will take place in our NFL Home Locker Room on an appointment basis, with entry being gained via the East Atrium on Worcester Avenue (see map below).

As well as giving blood, attendees will be able to pick up a DIY kit to find out their blood group. Trained staff representative of the Black community will be involved in sessions.

A dedicated phone line - 0300 303 2737 - has been set up to book appointments on these sessions. Alternatively, potential donors can visit https://www.blood.co.uk/news-and-campaigns/campaigns/united-by-blood/ to find out more and book their timed appointment slot.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has hosted vital NHS services throughout the pandemic, with North Middlesex University Hospital’s Women’s Outpatient Services based within player and media areas during the first lockdown – delivering more than 41,500 appointments between April and July last year.

Alongside this, the stadium’s basement car park hosted drive-through COVID-19 testing for hospital staff and their families up until February this year.

Jon Babbs, Stadium Director, Tottenham Hotspur, said: “We are extremely proud to be opening our doors to the NHS on Father’s Day to host such vital services.

“We have already helped successfully deliver a vaccine clinic earlier in the year for those over the age of 45 and will now do so on a much larger scale.

“Such is the versatility of our stadium, while many are having their vaccine in the West Stand, others will be donating blood in our NFL Home Locker Room as part of a national appeal in the fight against sickle cell.

Dr Will Maimaris, Director of Public Health at Haringey Council, said: “In line with the rest of London, cases of COVID-19 are rising in Haringey. Most people get vaccinated when it is their turn, but there is still a significant proportion of eligible people who have yet to get vaccinated.

“Vaccination is our best defence against COVID-19 and the current, most prevalent Delta variant, that first originated in India, is more transmissible than previous variants.

"The delay to step 4 of the roadmap out of lockdown is evidence of just how quickly the situation can change. I would urge anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated to take advantage of this great event at Spurs.

“Members of the Black community, who haven’t received a vaccine during the previous seven days, are encouraged to donate blood at the event. This is to help with the vital treatment of sickle cell disease for members of your community."