‘Medics on Covid frontline can’t get vaccine’
FRONTLINE doctors and other healthcare professionals are struggling to access the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in Wales, it is claimed.
Dr David Bailey, chairman of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) Welsh Council, said the Welsh NHS was “in danger of collapse” due to soaring staff absence levels.
He said it was “unacceptable” that frontline clinicians were still being exposed to the virus day in, day out without proper protection.
His comments come following the announcement that the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use by the MHRA and will be rolled out in Wales from next week.
Dr Bailey said: “Despite calling for the publication of health board plans and improved communication to
staff on the ground, we’re still hearing of doctors and other healthcare professionals struggling to access vaccinations in some parts of Wales and a complete lack of transparency around delivery. This cannot continue.
“You can’t run a health service without staff and with many isolating or actually having the virus themselves, we’re in danger of a collapse. The situation is dire. Staff who are working are at absolute breaking point, both physically and mentally, and it’s difficult to see how this situation can continue.”
Dr Bailey stressed that priority for vaccines should be given to frontline staff in both primary and secondary care – and those working in care functions – with direct patient contact.
He added that mental health support should also “be made readily available during this incredibly testing time”.
“Without doctors and other healthcare professionals being fit and able to continue working, people in Wales will suffer,” he said.
“It’s unacceptable that staff are continuing to shoulder this huge burden, being exposed day in, day out, and are not being properly protected in doing so.
“We’re hearing of a huge disparity in vaccination rollout for staff in different health boards, with some areas moving forward with vaccinations and others where staff are unable to get through on email or phone lines and are left in the dark about when they can get a vaccine. It’s not good enough when lives are on the line.
“Vaccinations need to be prioritised based on clinical need, with a reliable and accessible booking process that is communicated to all staff. Only when this is properly managed can we stand a chance of protecting the increasing number of patients with Covid-19 we’re seeing in Wales.”
Before Christmas, Hywel Dda University Health Board admitted its own online booking system was “open to abuse” and urged only those in patient-facing roles to take up the offer of a vaccine.
Ros Jervis, director of public health at Hywel Dda UHB, said: “We have faith in the honesty and integrity of all our staff to do the right thing and not book a vaccine unless they are in a patient-facing role and meet the eligibility criteria as set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
“We have no substantial evidence that appointments are being booked inappropriately.”
In other health board areas, including Aneurin Bevan UHB, frontline nurses have claimed non-patient-facing administrative staff were able to book an appointment for their vaccine.
However, they were then told not to attend their appointments.
In Swansea Bay University Health Board it was confirmed that “a small number of doses” were given to staff who are not usually patient-facing.
But its director of public health, Dr Keith Reid, said this was appropriate as their current role involved a higher risk level.
“During the vaccination process, a small number of doses were given to staff who are not usually patient-facing, for example administration staff supporting the vaccination programme,” he said. “This is because the Pfizer vaccine which we have been issuing can only be used in a short time-frame.”
Meanwhile, a second coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out across Wales from Monday, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca jab was authorised as safe and effective by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) yesterday, following large-scale clinical trials.
Around 100 million doses have been ordered by the UK Government – enough to vaccinate 50 million people – and Wales will receive its allocation based on population over the coming weeks and months. Welsh Government sources said it was difficult to predict at this stage how long it would take to roll out the vaccination programme, because of the immediate uncertainty over the level of supply. But it’s hoped that within a small number of weeks, the number of doses being administered will run to 100,000 a week.
Wales has around 1.5 million people in priority groups to receive the vaccine and around 1.1 million who fall outside those groups – in other words, people under 50 without health conditions that would put them into a priority category.
With everyone needing two doses, it’s hoped to complete the roll-out by the end of 2021.
Some 10% of people have said they definitely won’t have the vaccine.
In early December, the Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine became the first to receive MHRA approval in the UK. Since then, more than 30,000 people are estimated to have received the jab in Wales.
Mr Gething said having two vaccines approved was not an “instant fix” to the Covid-19 pandemic and urged people to continue to follow regulations to limit the spread of the virus.
“It will arrive in small quantities initially, with more of our populationbased allocation arriving each week,” he said. “Unlike the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is stored at normal vaccine fridge temperatures. This means it will have fewer storage and transportation issues, making it much easier to use in community settings such as care homes and primary care.
“Again, two doses will be needed, albeit the interval can now be moved to 12 weeks between each dose.”
Mr Gething described news of the vaccine’s approval as “excellent” and said plans were in place to ensure Wales had the “capacity, systems and staff” to increase the number of vaccinations.
But he stressed that it was important to be “realistic” as the effects of the vaccines may not be seen nationally for “many months”.
“We all still have a part to play in keeping Wales safe – however, we can now do so with a greater sense of optimism for 2021,” Mr Gething said.
“There really is light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.”
He told the Senedd that “levellingoff” of coronavirus rates in Wales had been seen but they continued to be high, with an increase in cases in north Wales.
The current number of beds occupied in Welsh hospitals is higher than at the peak of the initial wave in April, with usual capacity limited due to staff absence and distancing patients with and without Covid-19.
Mr Gething said the coming weeks would be an “extraordinary challenge” for health and social care staff, with 2,600 coronavirus-related patients already in Welsh hospitals.
Critical care was “perhaps under the greatest pressure”, with 126 Covidrelated patients in Welsh hospitals – an increase of 24% since December 21.
On Tuesday, there were 210 critical care patients in beds across Wales. The normal capacity is 152 patients, meaning critical care in the country was operating at almost 140% of this, Mr Gething told the Senedd.
“Our critical care staff have not had a break and the awful truth is that patient flow out of critical care is not all good news,” he added.
“Some people do recover. However, mortality rates are making a bigger contribution to freeing up beds.”
Figures show that almost 40% of people admitted to critical care units in Wales since September 1 have died, which Mr Gething said was “the reality of the number of infections” seen in the country.
The most recent estimates for the R value in Wales are between 1 and 1.3, with growth of 1%-4% per day. Approximately one person in 60 in Wales has Covid-19.
Public Health Wales data gives an incidence rate of 433 cases per 100,000 people across the country.