Well done NHS

[henry d]

We recently moved from Scotland to Tyneside and are staying with our daughter. One of the things that we were worried about was getting lost in the system for our vaccination, we registered here as soon as we arrived and waited. Almost three weeks later and we get a letter from NHS Scotland with our appointments back in Scotland, so we phone the number and ask if we can get it done in England. However you can't get it out with the local area, but if we contact our GP practice and tell them the situation they may be able to ensure we don't miss out. We discussed between ourselves that if they can't get us a jab soon then we would drive up and get the first up there.

We phone them and they say they will flag us up as they have just started on group 7, and five minutes later they call back and ask if Thursday is ok? Hell yeah! So we phone NHS Scotland and tell them that we no longer need the appointment and someone else can have our appointment. Less than an hour to turn it round, I think that is pretty good all things considered.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

4 minutes ago, henry d said:

We recently moved from Scotland to Tyneside and are staying with our daughter. One of the things that we were worried about was getting lost in the system for our vaccination, we registered here as soon as we arrived and waited. Almost three weeks later and we get a letter from NHS Scotland with our appointments back in Scotland, so we phone the number and ask if we can get it done in England. However you can't get it out with the local area, but if we contact our GP practice and tell them the situation they may be able to ensure we don't miss out. We discussed between ourselves that if they can't get us a jab soon then we would drive up and get the first up there.

We phone them and they say they will flag us up as they have just started on group 7, and five minutes later they call back and ask if Thursday is ok? Hell yeah! So we phone NHS Scotland and tell them that we no longer need the appointment and someone else can have our appointment. Less than an hour to turn it round, I think that is pretty good all things considered.

Now then if you and I can fit in and use the system to get us vaccinated easily and quickly why are so many people moaning?

[henry d]

10 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Now then if you and I can fit in and use the system to get us vaccinated easily and quickly why are so many people moaning?

No idea, part of the reason I posted.

[Centrepin]

When the jab came available NHS contacted us (the wife and I) asking if we wanted the jab at home as we're high risk.

Obviously said yes, they made an appointment for the next day and asked if there was anyone else who would want it at the same time, ie: anyone we came into contact with. Daughter had it as she's a registered carer. 

Very good service from the NHS.

I do believe that around here they're now into people in their 40s, all other categories completed.

 

[royden]

Had an appointment at 11.00 am today for my first jab and it was operating like a production line. Walked through the door at 10.50 and walked out all done at 10.55. The amount of people turning up was amazing and a lot of them looked in there 30s and 40s. A great effort from all those involved.

 

[JohnfromUK]

I had a letter from the NHS offing jab about 2-3 weeks ago (I'm group 7 as an over 60).  Could choose where at an NHS 'hub' - the nearest being about 12-15 miles, but I think I could have chosen anywhere in the country.  Booked both 1st and 2nd (due late May) - second having to be at a different location.  Was done 8 days ago now - all very well organised.  Had I not been able to get to the NHS hub, I could have waited a little longer to be done at my local Drs surgery I believe.

Only downside was that I did have a roughish day the next day (side effects), but fully over it now.

[Scully]

As mentioned elsewhere, I received a letter and made it complicated for myself by not replying immediately ( basically will have to wait another month ) so just phoned my GP who said it would probably be April sometime, locally and they would be in touch. That’s fine, but for some reason our local news features each night comments made by folk complaining about how difficult it is to make an appointment online or the distances they are asked to travel.
Personally I think our NHS are doing a great job; I certainly wouldn’t go to the trouble to email the media because I’m either unable or can’t be bothered to travel to get the vaccine a bit earlier than I would from my local hub. Some folk are just never happy. 

[JohnfromUK]

2 minutes ago, Scully said:

our local news features each night comments made by folk complaining about how difficult it is to make an appointment online or the distances they are asked to travel.

It was a little tricky because;

• When booking on line - you select a time and place for the first jab - that was all easy
• You are then prompted to book the second jab - which I was told (on screen) could not be done where I had booked the first jab
• I then selected a different venue for the second jab - and then a time to get it done
• It then showed me both appointments as I had selected - and asked me to confirm them
• When I tried to do that - the message came back - sorry that slot is no longer available
• This happened 4 times and I was getting pretty 'frustrated' by the end - and 5th attempt went through all OK

You do have to be very quick and nimble (or possibly lucky) to get through before someone else has booked the slot.  My friends along the road had similar issues for both of them.

[Scully]

15 minutes ago, JohnfromUK said:

It was a little tricky because;

• When booking on line - you select a time and place for the first jab - that was all easy
• You are then prompted to book the second jab - which I was told (on screen) could not be done where I had booked the first jab
• I then selected a different venue for the second jab - and then a time to get it done
• It then showed me both appointments as I had selected - and asked me to confirm them
• When I tried to do that - the message came back - sorry that slot is no longer available
• This happened 4 times and I was getting pretty 'frustrated' by the end - and 5th attempt went through all OK

You do have to be very quick and nimble (or possibly lucky) to get through before someone else has booked the slot.  My friends along the road had similar issues for both of them.

My experiences exactly, so I just phoned my GP to ask which group I was in and when I could expect a call, just to see how much longer I could expect to wait. I was given an indication ( about a month longer ) and was told the online bookings were ahead of local hubs, and at some point things may slow a little more as people would be due their second jabs. It didn’t enter my mind to contact the media. It is what it is. 
The same happened to a mate ( a few years younger than me but with health issues ) and he got it sorted after a few attempts. He didn’t consider contacting the media either. 🤷‍♂️

Edited March 13, 2021 by Scully
Predictive text

[JohnfromUK]

1 minute ago, Scully said:

It didn’t enter my mind to contact the media.

Nor mine - but I have mentioned it on here (and to my local friends) so that they know to have dates to hand and go quickly etc - and if at first you don't succeed, try again.