To call GP and ask this?

[flobberdobberr]

WIBU to call GP and ask politely if they could give me a ring if any spare vaccines left at the end of the day and say I could be there quickly.

Background
•I am not trying to cut in line or anything, I've just heard of this happening first hand.
•I'm in the clinically vulnerable category but not clinically extremely vulnerable. I don't think I would survive it due to my circs though.
• I don't want to come across as cheeky. But if vaccines are going to waste I'd rather I had one so my kids can go back to school without fear when they open.
• Having worked in GP surgeries before, I know that they will have lists printed off of who to call, but it might be hard to fill last minute gaps.

Genuine opinions because I'm probably just a bit desperate and won't call if it's really cheeky. Would just accept that I'm being a cheeky fucker and shouldn't be so selfish.

I wouldn't phone, but you could write / email / use some online messaging thing if your surgery has that.

Position it as doing them a favour (ie. avoid having to throw out good vaccine) and give them the facts eg. you're rarely more than x minutes travel time from the surgery (which might not be obvious from your address, depending how well the admin staff know the neighbourhood) so could accept a short notice appointment if there are any.

Surgery staff literally knocked on my brother's door and offered him the vaccine if he could go for it there and then, it's really not going to waste

Position it as doing them a favour (ie. avoid having to throw out good vaccine)

This would be funny if it wasn't quite so insulting.

I think if your GP surgery has a message on their answer phone to not call about the vaccination, then I wouldn't.
I don't think there is a huge problem with it going to waste as the situation was rectified very quickly by calling upon other groups to come in.
If that's what they're doing near you then it's entirely possible you might be asked to come in earlier anyway.

I hope you get your vaccine soon OP.

Vaccines aren't being wasted as far as I know. Most surgeries have lists of people to call to request to present quickly.

I dont think what you're suggesting matches with how the vaccination programme is being rolled out.

YABU it’s just wasting the surgery’s time. If they have cancellations they will work through patients in the current priority group.

Don’t queue jump wait your time like the rest of us. I’m CEV and waiting for mine but I wouldn’t dream of trying to beat someone else to the post.

Good grief. It's almost impossible to get through on the phone to our surgery since the vaccinations started. And that's despite the recorded message saying PLEASE don't call us about vaccination.

The surgery is putting notices on social media pleading with people not to call them unless they're ill. As if life wasn't hard enough for their staff right now.

As others have said, General Practice is incredibly busy right now. The last thing they need is people clogging up their phone lines with pushy vaccination requests.

@UrsulaVdL just by asking the question, she is being grabby!

Im a General Practice Nurse. Please dont do this. Its selfish and silly to this you would cut in front of other people in priority groups ahead of you.

In my practice you wouldnt even get last the receptionist with this.

*past the receptionist

We have patients in the current priority groups on a reserve list that are told they will be called at short notice if there are doses left over so I wouldn't call.

My dad's friend has had two calls at 4.45pm to say if he can be at the surgery by 5pm he can have a jab; the first time he was too far away and the second time he got there. They have a reserve list - some surgeries are just better at letting people know that's what they are doing. Make sure they have your mobile number and trust in the system.

Yabu.
I had an unrelated appt and was amazed at the amount of calls they were fielding about this. No wonder I couldn't get through and I wonder about people calling with genuine needs being mixed in with the other callers

The receptionist said that they also had an issue with people just turning up, and hovering around on the off chance.

Obviously they don't want the vaccine to go to waste so have been giving it when needed to people like carers who came in with relatives, people in next group down as possible. However they now found people calling demanding to know why their neighbour has had the vaccine and they haven't, or that they weren't offered it the previous week when they came in.

Let's not spoil a good thing eh?

Sorry, but imagine the wasted time if everyone did what you are thinking about doing!

Well, a few weeks ago it worked for several people I know! I think the system is slicker and tighter and they have reserve lists now.

At the beginning I know for a fact that there were some vials being potentially discarded, and that the elderly parents of a friend of mine who had rung up to do as you did, say they could be there ASAP did in fact get a call at 4.45pm that day.

I don’t think it will work now.

I believe our surgery has a waiting list.

I probably wouldn’t call, but no harm dropping an email, explaining your reasons.

You could try but all the spare vaccines I hear about are going to friends and family of people working in surgeries, admin in hospitals - basically people who are already in the building or have received a heads up and can get there immediately (please don’t accuse me of being a troll - I work in healthcare).

I’ve often wondered what happens to the 80+‘s that are accidentally missed (and there must be a few?). If the rule is you must not call your gp surgery no exceptions, how do you ever get the 80+ year old their jab? Or do they have to wait until next year?

I've got a routine appointment next week and might ask seeing as i'm there. But i'd never call just to ask.

I had a relative given her jab at the same time as her husband because he asked even though she is only 66 (husband is over 70).

@Lemons1571 that’s a completely different situation than OP’s. The 80 year old is within the top priority group so it wouldn’t be an issue if they called in, especially as they were missed to begin with. That’s merely getting the surgery to correct their error.

I think the surgeries are well organised and not just sat around at end of the day with spare vaccines not knowing what on earth to do with them. Though tbh the thought did cross my mind when I read about left overs.