Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Vaccine supercentres will speed up jab rate
But politicians voice concerns about transport links
NHS Lanarkshire is moving its Covid-19 vaccination programme from the current multiple community venues to two“super centres” which will have a combined capacity to see more than 50,000 people per week.
It means Monklands residents will now be sent initial invitations to attend appointments at Ravenscraig sports centre in Motherwell, while the health board’s other major facility will be in East Kilbride at the Alistair Mccoist complex.
Seven smaller local facilities including one based at the Time Capsule in Coatbridge will continue to operate in rotation from March 25, along with mobile units, for those wishing to reschedule appointments if they are unable to travel to the supercentres.
The new model began on Monday, with health board officials saying it will allow a faster pace for the vaccination programme – which has now reached the milestone of issuing 200,000 doses to Lanarkshire residents – plus the return of temporary staff to other roles in wider services across the NHS.
While the current Coatbridge venue will be retained for community appointments, the new system means Sir John Wilson town hall in Airdrie is no longer being used as a vaccination centre, nor will the smaller hubs at Gartlea and Old Monkland community centres which were part of the initial rollout to the highest priority groups.
Dr Mark Russell, who is leading Lanarkshire’s Covid-19 vaccination programme, said: “Until now, our programme has been tailored to vaccinate the most at-risk members of our community in centres close to their homes.
“The new model will start as we move through priority group six and will remain in place for the other groups.
“Initially, all appointments will be at the supercentres; people can choose to reschedule their appointment to one of the local centres, but there will be a wait for these.
“We would strongly encourage people who can attend their appointment at a supercentre to do so – this will enable people to receive their vaccination sooner than they would otherwise, and will protect the local centres for those who cannot travel.”
Airdrie representatives Neil Gray MP and Alex Neil MSP have written to the health board expressing concern about the move, saying they fear that it could impact on uptake and result in “residents missing out on the crucial vaccination”.
Mr Gray said: “A large number of constituents, particularly in outlying villages, have been in touch expressing concern at this decision.
“Not everyone has access to a car to travel to Ravenscraig or Coatbridge, nor will many be able to take public transport; we have written to NHS Lanarkshire asking for the local centres to be reintroduced to ensure that vaccine uptake is as high as possible to protect everyone.”
Constituency colleague Mr Neil agreed: “It’s ridiculous that people are being forced to travel for their vaccination, especially when transport services are so sparse at present.
“I’m urging NHS Lanarkshire to keep the Airdrie town hall centre open – as the top priority is to ensure everyone gets vaccinated, common sense dictates that there must be centres in Airdrie & Shotts for the people of the area.”
Dr Russell said: “We are adapting our delivery model to vaccinate people faster, safer and more efficiently.
“Lanarkshire has had a high incidence of Covid-19 and our new plans will allow us to protect our communities as quickly as possible.
“We are amending our delivery model in preparation for changes in vaccine supply; this allows us to be flexible and means we can easily increase our pace of vaccination when supplies allow while keeping the programme safe, effective and efficient. For people who struggle with transport, we have arrangements in place with local voluntary organisations, and we are also working to provide a number of mobile units to help serve our more rural populations and for those who are unable to travel to either a supercentre or local centre.
“We hope everyone will appreciate this is the largestever vaccination programme and there is a national drive to vaccinate people as quickly as and safely as possible – this is an important step in our route out of the pandemic.”
He also praised the accelerating rollout of the vaccination programme, which saw half the doses administered to date issued last month alone, saying: “Our staff have been working incredibly hard and we administered 100,000 doses in February alone.”
Assistance with transport for vaccine appointments is available thanks to the help of groups including Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire, and can be arranged by calling the national helpline on 0800 030 8013, which is available from 8am to 8pm every day.
People with mobility issues can also use the Mybus service run by SPT, which requires registration and advance booking at www.spt.co.uk/ bus/mybus/ or by calling 0345 128 4025.