Elderly patients faced two- hour vaccine wait

Apology issued by health board after long queues in leisure centre

EXTRA staff were drafted after elderly patients who were left waiting hours for vaccines hit out at the NHS. Queues at the Lagoon Centre in Paisley waited around two hours to receive their shingles jag.

Patients slammed the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s vaccine centre as “organised chaos” and insisted a system overhaul was needed.

Jean Miller, 72, was waiting for her jag for almost two hours on Tuesday.

The 72- year- old from Crookston said: “This happened before when I was getting my Covid- 19 jag in the summer.

“I was outside for a few hours but you don’t mind so much in the nice weather.

“There were only four people doing the jags and the queues were all over the place.

“They were moving you from one queue to a row of seats and then another – it was organised chaos.”

Arlene Lincoln, 78, added: “I’ve been waiting on this jag for years because the lockdowns slowed everything down.

“I wanted to get it out the way but the queues were so long I told the girl at the door I’d just come back in the afternoon.

“She said everyone was saying that and folk were just deciding to miss it because it was taking so long.”

The NHSGGC said a temporary backlog was caused by the need for an alternative vaccine for some patients.

A spokesperson for the health board said: “During the continued rollout of our winter vaccination programme, which covers COVID19 boosters, flu and shingles, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s staff have administered more than 800,000 vaccinations.

“We would like to apologise to anyone who had to wait longer than expected for their shingles jag at Paisley’s Lagoon Centre. A number of patients required an alternative vaccine, due to their specific clinical needs, which caused a temporary backlog.

“In line with our protocols, teams worked hard to deploy additional alternative vaccines and vaccinators to the site, and actively engaged with members of the public to offer alternative appointments where requested.”

They added: “We would like to thank members of the public for the patience and the support they have given to our vaccination teams.

“To help prevent waits, and to allow our vaccination teams to process people in a timely manner, we are asking members of our local communities to arrive only a few minutes ahead of their allocated appointment time.

“If anyone is concerned about accessing a clinic, we would encourage them to call the national helpline on 0800 030 8013.”