VACCINATION TIME
NORTH SLIGO PATIENTS WERE DELIGHTED TO RECEIVE THEIR COVID-19 VACCINES LAST WEEK AT BALLYSHANNON PRACTICE.
THERE were smiles all round last week at Bayview Family Practice in Ballyshannon as over 200 people from South Donegal and North Sligo received their Covid-19 vaccines.
For the purpose of vaccination, GPs who have less than 200 patients on the Over 70 age category will be assisted in ‘ buddying up’ with a larger practice in the area.
In this way, the small patient numbers from one practice will attend at the larger practice for vaccination.
In this case, Dr. Ide Leddy’s practice in Moneygold, Grange, was linked up with Bayview Family Practice to allow the over 85s to receive their vaccination.
Vaccination is well underway here in the North-West in large practices,” Dr. Conor Mitchell of Bayview Family Practice told The Sligo Champion.
The vaccination of people over the age of 85 started at the practice last Friday, when 218 patients received their first dose of the vaccine.
The practice covers a large area of South Donegal, and now North Sligo too.
It was a joyous occasion, with many of the elderly people who received the vaccine relieved to be doing so.
“It was fantastic. It was almost a social event with people coming in to get their vaccine done, they haven’t seen some of their friends in nearly 12 months,” said Dr. Mitchell.
He added: “They were over the moon. They were happy to have the vaccine and we had very few cancellations. All of the cancellations were actually due to illness rather than unwilling to come in.
“It was a great feeling to get that amount of vaccines out to that cohort of patients.”
The vaccines were largely given to the over 85s last Friday, but a small number of 84-yearolds also received theirs.
“This is the first step towards the end we hope. We’re trying to vaccinate our elderly groups and most at risk groups. If we can vaccinate them then we do reduce the risk of serious illness, hopefully, for that age group and then as we go down to the younger age groups we can ramp it up, especially with some of the other vaccines that are coming on stream such as the Johnson and Johnson one.”
Dr. Mitchell feels that GP practices can be a huge help when it comes to vaccinating the population, once more vaccines become available.
“It’s something that we can deliver. We can deliver it fast and in a timely fashion and we can deliver it in large numbers as a GP cohort, we can get this done it’s just that we need vaccines, if we can get the vaccines then we can deliver.”
GP practices have remained open throughout the pandemic. Changes have had to be made to ensure the safety of patients, but GPs across the country remind people that they are open and not to put off making contact if you are worried about something or feel unwell, unrelated to Covid-19.
“We’re open and we’ve been open right throughout this pandemic. We have changed how we do things,” said Dr. Mitchell.
“With our practice we triage over the telephone first. We’re still seeing people and bringing people in, we’re still doing bloods. There may be more of a wait but in the grand scheme of things it is a short wait.
“If you need to be seen then you will be seen. That’s the most important thing. We are open and seeing patients on a daily basis. We’ve changed the way we’re doing things to provide a safer environment for patients .
“What I would say to any patient is if you are worried about something then pick up the phone and ring your GP, you will be seen. It may not be today or tomorrow.”
The first day of vaccinations was a positive one for clinics such as Bayview, and Dr. Mitchell says he and his colleagues are delighted to be a part of this.
“It’s the first step, it’s the first moment. The amount of happy and smiling faces today, it was a great boost to us as community. We’re delighted to give it out.”
As of Friday, February 19 th, over 340,000 people had received vaccinations, with over 126,000 people receiving their second dose.