HOUSEBOUND York pensioner Gill Thompson will be getting her Covid jab on Sunday.

Charity the Ambulance Wish Foundation got in touch with Gill after reading about her case in The Press, and has arranged to drive her to the Askham Bar vaccination site and back on Sunday evening to get her jab.

As we reported on Wednesday Gill, who is 73 and disabled after contracting polio as a child, has so far not been able to get the vaccine, because she can't leave the house without support. She uses a walking frame to get around her Woodthorpe home - but needs a wheelchair if she goes out.

Her husband Mike, who used to drive her, passed away in 2019. Her son Jonathan, who is a care worker, cannot drive.

Gill told The Press on Wednesday that she desperately wanted to get vaccinated - but hadn't been out of the house since last March.

Serina Doran, who set up a York branch of the Ambulance Wish Foundation in 2016, got in touch with Gill after reading about her plight in The Press.

Gill has now made an appointment to be vaccinated on Sunday afternoon - and Serina will take her in the charity's ambulance, a converted Renault complete with its own wheelchair.

"It is fantastic, what they are doing!" Gill said.

In normal times, the Ambulance Wish Foundation helps make final wishes come true for people nearing the end of their lives. It takes them for a day out in the park, or for a final visit to the beach - whatever their wish might be.

But since the Covid vaccination programme began, the charity has also been helping housebound patients who want to get vaccinated get to the Askham Bar site and back.

"We've got the vehicle, we've got the wheelchair," Serina said. "It just seemed silly sitting here when we could be helping people!"

Serina is keen for any housebound elderly or vulnerable people who want the vaccine but are worried about how they might be able to get to the vaccination site to get in touch. She works full-time, she says, so can only take people to Askham Bar for their jabs in the evening, after 5pm, or at the weekend. But she has been doing that for several weeks now.

The NHS has been brilliant with the vaccination programme, she stressed. "But there are people who are having difficulties. We're happy to help anybody with mobility issues. I will take them, then bring them back, free of charge."

If you want the Ambulance Wish Foundation's help, make an evening or weekend vaccine appointment first, then contact the Foundation on 01904 530053 to tell them the time.