Book Your Covid Booster! Errr, How? Where?

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

I have to say that both my wife (nothing wrong as far as we know), and myself (severely immuno defficient due to chemotherapy) have been called into our GP's surgery by telephone. I have had all three & SWMBO is up for her third next week. And it worked like clockwork – a team of people outside to assist with parking, a team of people inside to assist with seating/coordination etc, and three people inside the surgery, one doing the paperwork, another administering the jab, and a third doing I know not what, possibly preparing for the next patient.

Plus, when I asked I also got the annual 'flu jab in the other arm.

Not so good though for attempting to see a doctor. Our surgery is operating this triage system. Not impressed. And indeed, after seeing the last three GP's, I'm not impressed there either. 10 minute appointments, and the door is then held open whilst you are still getting dressed. And only one symptom at a time. And I'm not impressed with one of them – "Carry on using the cream, it won't do any harm!" It may well have worked to start with, but it actually caused a further side effect which I realised after I stopped using it for a couple of days whilst I went to a consultant about the rash it was causing!

So, full marks for the anti- Covid organisation. Not so good otherwise.

Peter G. Shaw

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

It seems that as others have said sites come and go on the list depending on bookings so if someone takes a walk in jab their booked appointment gets cancelled and the system throws open the slot again. Blink and you missed it.

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

A friends parents living in Medway were given an appointment for booster jabs in Clacton, notwithstanding there is a walk in station in Chatham!

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Posted by Clive Hartland on 11/11/2021 12:39:19:

A friends parents living in Medway were given an appointment for booster jabs in Clacton, notwithstanding there is a walk in station in Chatham!

Perhaps the person sorting out the available jabs had a small scale map in front of them, only an inch or two

[OldMetallerParticipant @oldmetaller]

Just booked mine on the NHS website. It helped that I still had the texts on my phone from the first lot of vaccinations, as entering the number they gave me then made it really quick and easy.

John.

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

Totally agree with Peter G Shaw about the doctors surgery, we have to phone at 8:00 in the morning and wait for ages to get through then explain all your symptoms to the receptionist who then says that a doctor will phone you some time before six pm. Doctor will only attempt to call twice, if you don’t answer quickly enough that’s your tough luck, they then do everything possible to avoid having you visit the surgery, no wonder so many people are going to the local A and E department.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Letter from NHS, saying Go On Line.

Enter NHS no

Select place

Continue /next

Select time.

Go, confirn D O B and No.

Jab, sit for 15 mins

Go Home.

Wife was jabbed a couple of weeks after me.

Surgery (Got through!!!!!! ) "Youb are not on the list"

Went on line,

Enter her NHS no

Select place

Next

Select time

Go, jab, sit down for 15 mins, Go home

Howard

[Anonymous]

Posted by Baz on 11/11/2021 15:08:49:

Totally agree with Peter G Shaw about the doctors surgery, we have to phone at 8:00 in the morning and wait for ages to get through then explain all your symptoms to the receptionist who then says that a doctor will phone you some time before six pm. Doctor will only attempt to call twice, if you don’t answer quickly enough that’s your tough luck, they then do everything possible to avoid having you visit the surgery,

You forgot the bit where, when the doctor does call, he talks to you over a speaker-phone (or, worse, his mobile used as one) which picks up all the room acoustics. Just the thing for elderly people with age-related hearing loss.

[John Paton 1Participant @johnpaton1]

I am in the same locality as Nigel and the situation is nothing short of shocking.

My 95 year old mother (limited mobility, lives alone) was in the first tranche of vaccines and expected to get her call for a jab in September.

When she heard nothing she has twice contacted her GP surgery who said 'await your call'.

When my wife got her call (with appointment associated, 35 years younger and in good health) in Weymouth this week I contacted Mother's GP and was again told my mother should wait.

I have spent four days trying online and calling 119 (literally hours on the phone and conformed 'no appointments available in Dorset' !) and finally at 11.30 last night I went got an appointment booked online in Bournemouth. That will be a 2.5hr round trip for me to collect my mother and take her there.

The local pharmacy Nigel refers to is clearly swamped and we have no walk in centres offered in Dorset.

The first round of vaccinations, arranged at pace and run by volunteers worked a dream, so more time appears only to have allowed bureaucracy and muddle to develop.

So much for Climate Emergency and saving fuel if we are all doing this LoL.

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

i went for my pre booked booster int north UK today only to discover that if your eligable you dont need a booking – just walk in off the street – nwe to me.

[File HandleParticipant @filehandle]

Had ours this morning. We were there for about 1/2 hr. Whole process went OK.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Finally booked mine online this morning.

All of the local centres(I don't consider those on the other side of the Thames to be local) had appointments starting from 13th December. So I'm going to the closest, that I can walk to, on the 15th.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Well, the result for me was ringing my Health Centre, explaining the problem and obtaining an appointment in Weymouth Hospital – all of 3 miles by 2 buses away – later this month.

I wonder if a lot of the problem John Paton and I have found is down to local politics. Bournemouth was a Hampshire seaside-resort until some boundary re-organisation put it in Dorset, whereupon it decided it extends from Hurn Airport in the East to Poole in the West, and all the rest of Dorset is either its feifdom or non-existent.

So it hogs the lot, meaning the NHS website giving no walk-in centres, and just one vaccination pharmacy, elsewhere in a county 60 miles wide X 30 high – even though Dorset County Hospital is still in Dorchester in the centre of that 60 miles.

It made me wonder how many other counties, and their residents, are similarly affected. The replies above all show very inconsistent planning somewhere in the system.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I had mine locally after booking it online, I had a choice of at least 2 local sites within 1 1/2 miles of home. I live about 1 mile west of J21 on the M5. I mentioned this to another volunteer at the museum who lives in the centre of Weston Super Mare, and he was not amused at being offered Bristol or Bridgewater.

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

Got the call Friday mid morning to attend for stab on Saturday 11.30. Got there at 11.20 as MOST of my generation get there 10 minutes early and not one minute late and was ushered straight through. Slight disagreement that I told them NOT to administer Flu jab and that my fifteen minute run down would be spent in the controlled atmosphere of MY CAR and not the plague pit. Had to go through this again on exit to car. Bless, they're only trying to cover all bases so full marks.

Regards Ian

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