GPs warned of delays in rolling out vaccination
ELDERLY Scots face ‘weeks of frustration’ amid delays in GP surgeries receiving supplies of Covid-19 vaccines.
Officials working with Edinburgh GPs say supplies will not become reliable until January 25.
It has ignited fears that the Scottish Government will not be able to deliver on its pledge to give everyone over the age of 70 their first dose by the middle of next month.
An email sent by primary care support teams at NHS Lothian also said mass vaccination centres are not expected to become operational until February 15.
It comes amid concerns that Scotland is lagging behind other parts of the UK on the vaccine rollout.
But the Scottish Government last night said that its programme is ‘functioning well’ and that it does not expect delays to the rollout.
The email, sent to GPs on January 8, says the key problem faced by GPs delivering the vaccine is obtaining reliable supplies.
It says: ‘As everyone is aware, this is what is currently limiting our endeavours. Our best understanding is the supply will increase and become more reliable and proportionate to practice numbers from week beginning January 25, so a couple more weeks of frustration during which some 80+ patients will be getting the vaccination while others have to wait longer.’
The email, published by the i newspaper, suggests mass vaccination centres might not be operational until the middle of February, partly due to delays with creating a national booking system for patients.
It adds ‘We were planning on starting both mass and local clinics on February 1, but there may be delay in the delivery of the national booking system, which might knock this back to February 15.’
On Monday, Nicola Sturgeon pledged that everyone over the age of 80 would get their first dose of the vaccine within four weeks, with that to be extended to all people over 70 and those in the clinically extremely vulnerable group by the middle of February.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said 560,000 people would be vaccinated by the end of this month.
Yesterday Nicola Sturgeon said that ‘ healthy competition’ between the four home nations might help speed up vaccine rollout.
Figures yesterday showed that 175,942 people had been given the first dose in Scotland, compared with 2.1million in England. The Scottish Tories said an average of only 12,500 people a day are being vaccinated, meaning that target is on course to be missed. The Scottish Government said the NHS Lothian email contained ‘inaccuracies’ which would be corrected, but did not say what these were.
A spokesman said: ‘The vaccination programme is functioning well across Scotland – and it is entirely incorrect to claim otherwise. The national scheduling system, built on NSS Service Now, will be ready this month and we anticipate no delay to appointments during the rollout.
‘Scotland will initially receive up to 533,640 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine over the course of January with further doses becoming available via regular delivery throughout early 2021. Including the Pfizer vaccine that gives us almost 900,000 doses in January. Those doses will be allocated to health boards on a population share.
‘The Health Secretary will provide a detailed update this week on progress, including on vaccine supply, delivery methods, locations and workforce.
‘It is critical that all information issued from whichever source is accurate.’
A spokesman for Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership said information had changed in recent days and it was now believed the national booking system would soon begin i nviting people f or appointments in February.
He added: ‘GP practices in Lothian are doing a magnificent job of rolling out the programme to the over 80s and we expect supplies of vaccine to increase throughout the remainder of the month.’
NICOLA Sturgeon insists she welcomes ‘healthy competition’ within the UK over Covid vaccine delivery.
It’s a boast that may backfire – all the signs are that this major logistical exercise has had a turbulent start.
Some GPs have been told that supplies of the vaccine are not expected to become reliable until January 25, delaying the rollout to some elderly patients.
And mass vaccination centres are unlikely to be operational until February 15, due to a possible hold-up in the creation of a national booking system for jabs.
It’s a mess, and a predictable one, after the flu jab programme proved a disaster in swathes of Scotland late last year.
Delivering the coronavirus vaccine is a far greater challenge – but public expectation of success couldn’t be higher.
Vaccination will save lives and, in time, open a path to the restoration of normality after a period of extraordinary turmoil.
Ambitious targets have been set, with every Scot aged 70 or over to be offered the inoculation by Valentine’s Day.
We’ve seen time and again that the Nationalists are past masters when it comes to presentational politics.
They can craft good soundbites and make extravagant promises – but turning them into reality is a different matter.
Only a fraction of the 560,000 vaccine doses that have been delivered to Scotland have been administered. Miss Sturgeon is ‘very hopeful’ that everyone over the age of 50 will get the jab by early May.
The Government must work at full capacity to make that happen.
Delay can lead only to more deaths – and the prospect of lockdown dragging on far longer than it should. By all means, let’s have a healthy competition, First Minister, but the race against the virus is one we can’t afford to lose.