Booster jab GP surgeries cancel non-urgent services to help drive
GP surgeries across Gloucestershire have cancelled non-urgent services to help with the rollout of the Covid-19 booster vaccination.
Health bosses say there may be some impact on other non-urgent services, and GP practices may not be able to offer the same level of routine support as usual.
They are calling on the public to continue to be kind and patient as health workers support the vaccination programme.
NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group clinical chair, Dr Andy Seymour, said vaccination teams were pulling out all the stops as they stepped up even further to expand the vaccination programme for everyone who was eligible.
“As has been the case since the vaccine programme began this time last year, we have been overwhelmed by the commitment and willingness of our colleagues across the health and care family to step up to the challenge and ensure everyone who wants one is able to access a booster over the next few weeks,” he said.
“As we look to free up maximum capacity to deliver vaccinations, there may be some impact on non-urgent services and GP practices may not be able to offer the same level of routine or non-clinical support as usual.
“Please continue to be kind, patient and understanding to our colleagues who are going all out to support this monumental effort.”
Local NHS services will be in touch with people very soon with an invitation to book an appointment, if they haven’t already. Around 300,000 booster doses have been given so far.
In response to the threat of the new Omicron variant, vaccination teams have been asked to accelerate plans to provide boosters to all adults over the age of 18 from three months after their second dose.
Health and care partners across the county have been working together to look at the options to deliver the ambitious target.
They say their innovative Gp-led Primary Care Network community vaccination model and community pharmacy offer across the county means they have a strong infrastructure to work from.
A CCG spokesperson said: “We have well-established and effective staffing arrangements which we will supplement, where needed, and we are confident that our incredible vaccination teams can once again rise to the challenge to ensure everyone who wants one is able to access a booster by the end of the year.
“People do not need to travel outside of the county for their Covid-19 vaccinations if they do not wish to.
“We will be accelerating the speed and scale of the booster programme to all those 18 and over, and those at greatest risk will continue to be prioritised.
“We are working with our partners at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust to ensure those who are housebound receive their vaccination as soon as possible.”
There are three ways to access a booster vaccination in Gloucestershire:
1. VIA APPOINTMENT AT A GP-LED PRIMARY CARE NETWORK (PCN) VACCINATION CENTRE
The bulk of vaccinations continue to be provided by appointment through the 11 PCN community vaccination centres across the county.
These appointments are not available on the national booking system. People will receive an invitation directly from local NHS services to book (often via text if a person’s GP practice has a contact number).
These sites are increasing their capacity through extended opening hours and in some cases opening up to seven days a week. Additionally, people may be invited to book their appointment at a number of ‘pop-up’ sites across the county.
2. VIA THE NATIONAL BOOKING SYSTEM
Some people may choose to book an appointment at one of eight community pharmacies across the county using the NBS telephone number and website (nhs.uk/covidvaccination or call 119 ).
The Jabvan at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, which had been a hospital vaccination hub for health and social care workers, has also opened to the public on the National Booking System to support the Covid booster campaign.
3. AT A DROP-IN CLINIC
Drop-in clinics will continue at some community vaccination sites through December.
Dates (including any new ones) and any changes to eligibility for future drop-in sessions will be available on the local NHS Covid portal.
People can also keep up to date through CCG (@GLOSCCG) and GP practice social media channels.
To ensure that these drop-in clinics operate at a safe capacity, they will be opening up availability to specific age groups – as they did during the first vaccination rollout.
If a person’s age group is not eligible for that particular drop-in session, they should not turn up – they will still be able to book an appointment at their nearest vaccination centre when they receive an invitation.
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We will be accelerating the speed and scale of the booster programme to all those 18 and over, and those at greatest risk will continue to be prioritised
Clinical Commissioning Group spokesperson