Why can boots get the flu vaccine but GP can't

[Toastytoads]

Just that really, my surgery were saying they are delayed and we have to wait. Booked myself and elderly parents in at boots and we all manage to have it? Seems odd.

Ds1 and I got ours at Tesco yesterday. Dh is putting his faith in the gp,who have said to wait for a text invitation. Last year his never came and by the time he phoned to ask they’d run out. Ds2 is getting one at school for the first time this year (year 9) but not until November.

All companies have to order their flu jabs really early, we placed our order in April for this season, our pharmacy branch is expected to administer 500-600 jabs over the next 3 months and our company has nearly 400 branches.
It’s been busy this week, we’ve given 80 jabs so far and we have 100 booked in for next week.
The NHS pays pharmacies £9.58 for each flu jab they give and they pay £10.06 to the GP surgery so it’s actually cheaper for the NHS to get pharmacies to do it.

My GP surgery goes through patients in order of risk usually. There are several clinics on different days and I'm usually in one towards the end as a relatively young and healthy diabetic. They're very, very efficient on vaccination clinics, the whole surgery is turned over to just vaccinations and they jab hundreds of people over an 8 hour day.

Thanks to the pp who shared that GPs get bonuses for flu jabs - didn't know that so happy to wait for mine. Flu season isn't for some time and I don't usually get one until later October anyway. Our GPs do an amazing job with the admin and have volunteers to get it all done. Previously I've been given mine by my GP if I happened to have an appointment with him at the right time. He offered and it seemed efficient to say yes!

@BellsaRinging

I was very unimpressed by boots, who today cancelled my appointment for me and ds...which was for first thing tomorrow, and which they had reminded me twice today to attend. Same thing happened last year...and no appointments to rebook to for 3 weeks. Grrr.

Probably a pharmacist having to self-isolate at the last minute.

I had mine on 17th at Boots. The woman who did it said they had a different supply chain. (Probably Amazon. 😉 )

@leftbutcameback they don't get bonuses, they get paid for providing the service.

Flu vaccs are sent out in order of who ordered first, usually big chains like boots/ Tesco’s etc out in bulk orders a year in advance whereas smaller GPS who may have had staffing issues like the surgery I work at that had 2 practice managers leave, are short on practice nurses, no HCA until I joined in June and several retirements out of their 24 staff. As ours weren’t ordered until the new paractice manager joined in spring we are late getting our delivery this year - hoping to get by the end of Oct.

Its crazy, the surgeries should be stocked first

Doctors aren’t seeing patients unless absolutely necessary insist on phone call appointments - so why have an awful lot of people tramping through the surgery when you don’t have to?

People are already in town shopping etc so the foot fall is there anyway.

[quote TroysMammy]@toomuchfaster - Doctors don't give vaccinations in flu clinics that is left up to Practice Nurses on Saturdays. GPs don't go into work on Saturday flu clinics.[/quote]
In your surgery maybe, not in all. As PP mentions in her post

I had mine at the GP's last week. I guess some surgeries must have got their orders in before others.

Where I live they run clinics and you are advised to go there it's run by the NHS trust and not surgeries. You on comission on how many times you can say the chemist name or something 😄

It's the same most years. If I wait for the GP surgery it's delay after delay, waiting weeks for the jab.

So I just book at the local pharmacists - free one for Mrs, paid on for Dd. All sorted tight at the start of the season.

Had mine just over a week ago, no issue with supplies or delays at Weldricks.

@BungleandGeorge actually it's better to get it early as it takes 2-3 weeks to get to full immunity and it likely lasts over a year.

@Porridgealert

I had mine on 17th at Boots. The woman who did it said they had a different supply chain. (Probably Amazon. 😉 )

Yes. Not sure about chemists but I know flu jabs that go to GP surgeries are organised through the local CCG.

I had my flu jab 2 weeks ago at my surgery. I usually have it in November at a flu clinic run by the surgery. This year I had a text to ring for an appointment the next day!

Our surgery has sent out texts offering the flu jab, but when you go to book there are no appointments available. Daft. DP tried the same day he got the text.

what does it matter if its boots, tescos or a GP that administers an NHS jab?

Surely its better for everyone if its done in pharmacies, and GPs are left for sick people?

Money I expect boots pay more per jab that’s nhs to manufacturers.

Mine won’t give an nhs one despite being a healthcare professional as I’m private now. I also qualify as living with an immune compromised patient & I spend all week visiting care homes.

They won’t check the hcpc register and I have an unusual name so it’s not like I could be faking.

The pharmacy do it for me now 🤷🏻‍♀️

Had mine through my GP this morning.

I had originally planned to go to Boots to reduce the demand on my GP but they have a large sign in red bold capitals on their website asking us to ‘please support your local surgery by having your Flu vaccination with us this year. We have to order vaccines a year in advance and will lose income if you go elsewhere’

So I booked with my GP

I had mine today at my doctors surgery. Done by a GP along with my Covid booster. Going by all the posts on mn though it seems we are very lucky with our local surgeries.

[quote toomuchfaster]@BungleandGeorge actually it's better to get it early as it takes 2-3 weeks to get to full immunity and it likely lasts over a year.[/quote]
No that’s not what recent research indicates www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20210830/flu-shot-timing-whats-optimal

Your GP gets paid a bonus whether you have the jab at the GP or pharmacy because it’s based on how many registered patients have had it

[quote TroysMammy]@toomuchfaster - Doctors don't give vaccinations in flu clinics that is left up to Practice Nurses on Saturdays. GPs don't go into work on Saturday flu clinics.[/quote]
Funny, all the GP s where I work did the Saturday clinics. But actually more cost effective to pay nurses than doctors to do it.

In Lothian GPs are not doing any flu vaccines. All being done centrally now. Means we can get on seeing/speaking to the 60 patients a morning we had last week!

There are several companies that provide flu vaccines so it depends on the manufacture as to the delays. Surgeries get discounts depending on a number of factors including number ordered.