Minister faces quiz as nurses are forced to wait in the cold
HEALTH Secretary Jeane Freeman has been urged to explain a botched vaccine rollout session for frontline NHS workers.
Staff were left standing for hours in a freezing queue on Tuesday as they waited to receive their jabs.
The Health Secretary is facing growing questions over the Scottish Government’s handling of the coronavirus injection scheme.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that staff were left queuing for hours outside the Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
It came after an administration error meant the workers due to provide the vaccine did not turn up.
NHS bosses issued an apology for the error and pledged to reschedule all the missed appointments.
But concerns have been raised over the mix-up, which left staff – in some cases wearing thin clothing – standing outside for more than two-and-a-half hours in freezing temperatures.
I mages show dozens of people queuing outside the Lister Building onto the city’s Alexandra Parade as they waited for the life-saving jab.
One source told Glasgow Live: ‘ We showed up and started queuing from
‘Conditions hazardous to their own health’
eight. We were told vaccination staff hadn’t turned up, and there was no vaccine. We were to return by 11am.
‘The queue was a mile long at 11am when we were meant to start. I queued for two-and-a-half hours before I got my vaccination, and even that was hours after my scheduled appointment.’
The source added: ‘There were any number of surgeons in the queue and the amount of appointments for patients that have had to be cancelled as surgeons cannot make clinics or operations – it’s a huge embarrassment.’
Last night, Scottish Labour health spokesman Monica Lennon said it was ‘simply unacceptable’ that NHS staff had been left queuing in the cold well into the evening.
The Central Scotland MSP has demanded that Miss Freeman set out exactly how the vaccine programme will work north of the Border – including ensuring other NHS workers do not suffer as a result of further mix-ups.
She said: ‘Frontline hospital staff who had appointments were left in conditions hazardous to their own health and detained from carrying out their duties in the hospital for hours.
‘There is no priority greater than the vaccination programme, and that is why it is essential that Jeane Freeman gives a guarantee to the people of Scotland that such scenes will not be repeated across the country in the coming months.
‘It’s time for Jeane Freeman to get to grips with the vaccination programme, publish daily figures on the number of vaccinations available and administered, and ensure that our NHS staff do not pay the price of a bungled rollout.’
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it wished to ‘sincerely apologise’ to all those impacted by the delays.
In a statement, a spokesman for the board said that a ‘scheduling error’ meant that vaccination staff were not on site to provide the vaccines.
They added: ‘We are making arrangements f or those who have missed their appointment to be offered another appointment this afternoon or another appointment this week.’