BOOSTER JABS LOTTERY
Thousands of Scots unable to book NHS slot, our exhaustive research shows
THOUSANDS of Scots are struggling to book a Covid booster before Christmas – despite being urged to get the jab as soon as possible.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week issued an anxious call for people to arrange their booster vaccination amid rising fears over the latest mutant strain of the virus.
She promised almost three million people would receive the jab by the end of January.
However, a snapshot survey by The Scottish Mail on Sunday shows that, in some parts of Scotland, the NHS is straining to meet demand.
Over a five-hour period on Friday morning, we used the official online booking portal to check the availability of booster appointments at every one of Scotland’s 133 vaccine clinics.
Our exhaustive research shows availability was patchy, with some clinics fully booked.
In some areas, there were no appointments before the end of January – even for the most clinically vulnerable. In NHS Lothian, more than half of clinics had no slots available for the rest of this month.
In the Highlands, two of the area’s four clinics had no available appointments, while in the Borders three clinics had no slots.
Last night health boards sought to reassure the public, insisting that thousands more slots would be made available to meet demand.
But critics warned that the ‘postcode lottery’ for booster appointments was undermining confidence in the Scottish Government’s ability to meet its target for jabs.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘This is further evidence of the SNP’s poor planning and communication in relation to the recent accelerated booster rollout.
‘We’ve had the chaos of eligible people being refused their vaccines and now it seems a postcode lottery is emerging when it comes to patients’ ability to book online appointments. This is undermining public confidence in the vaccine rollout and threatens the SNP Government’s ability to meet its goal of ensuring every eligible adult receives a booster by the end of January.’
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation last week announced that boosters could be given just three months after a second dose of the vaccine – instead of the six months it had previously recommended.
Scottish Ministers immediately announced a
...but at least Nicola managed to get her vaccination ‘This is undermining public confidence in the vaccine rollout’
huge escalation of booster jab delivery amid concerns over the new Omicron variant.
But the move descended into chaos after people who followed Ms Sturgeon’s advice to get their booster as soon as possible were turned away from clinics.
On Friday, The Scottish Mail on Sunday checked availability of appointments by using the official online portal.
People aged 18-39 are immediately told they cannot yet book a booster and must wait for further information.
We then checked availability for those aged 4049 at every clinic on the portal. In areas with low availability for people in their 40s, we also checked availability for the over50s and the clinically vulnerable. While some areas had widespread access, others were patchy.
In NHS Lothian, Scotland’s second biggest health board, 15 out of 22 clinics had no slots left this year.
And in NHS Highland, only two out of four centres had appointments, although new clinics have since been introduced. Demand was also high in parts of the Borders, with no slots available in clinics in Coldstream, Duns or Newcastleton in December or January, although appointments were available elsewhere in the area.
In Fife, all appointments had been snapped up in Anstruther and were available on just one day in Oakley. Scotland’s biggest health board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, offered no pre-Christmas slots in six of 21 clinics, although other clinics in the area had wide availability.
There were also differences across the country for patients hoping to book ahead for January.
Appointments were available in some places but had not yet been released in others.
Last night NHS Lothian said: ‘There were 90,000 appointment slots available at the end of November across Lothian.
‘Booking levels are high, so the number of slots available reduces each day, but new slots are uploaded regularly when new capacity is confirmed to help meet demand.’
NHS Borders said there were clinics running today in Coldstream and Newcastleton ‘which are fully booked but appointments may open up should people choose to reschedule’. It said it also has ‘a high number of appointments available w/c January
3 in Duns and Peebles’, adding that it was ‘encouraging anyone who is struggling to use the online portal to call the national helpline’.
NHS Fife said there were around 26,000 available vaccination appointments plus booster drop-in clinics, and tens of thousands of January slots had not yet been released. NHS Highland said the number of clinics in the area was being expanded from four to 13.
Scottish Labour’s health spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘Despite the promises made by the SNP, there is not the capacity in the system to deliver.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Urgent modelling work is being done to inform the operational response, including assessing the additional capacity that will be needed in terms of workforce and facilities, and we’ll explore all options to accelerate the vaccination programme as quickly as we possibly can.’
‘There is not the capacity in the system to deliver’