Getting GP to amend vaccination group

[Rillington]

I had to call my GP for something today. While I was on the phone I asked what group my DH would be in. The receptionist said he would be group 8 by age.

I explained he should be group 6 because he has heart issues. She said there was nothing she could do.

I am CEV and worried about my DH getting it and passing it on to me.

Should I persevere with the GP or contact my husband's consultant?

Thank you

GPs aren't allowed to change groups. It's set by the JCVI. Sorry. Otherwise they'd have every man and his dog ringing up to try and get changed.
If you're CEV, you should be vaccinated before him though, and fairly soon.

It's surely not the receptionist's responsibility to decide this. Maybe that's what she meant. I think you should pursue it with the surgery by actually speaking to one of the GPs. Would be possible?
If not, then contact the consultant, yes.

My above comment is if he is actually in the wrong group, obviously.

Im surprised the receptionist even gave you that information.

@MissisBee you’ve misunderstood - her DH has been wrongly allocated group 8 when he should be in group 6 according to the JCVI criteria.

OP, easiest for your DH to speak to his GP directly - either the heart problem isn’t on his GP problem list, or it is, and somebody hasn’t looked at it when they’ve assigned vaccine groups. The consultant won’t be able to do anything about either of those issues, aside from sending another copy of the last clinic letter.

The rate they are going through them and the way groups are overlapping means it mightn't actually make much difference anyway?

Also, is he your carer? Did I not read somewhere that carers are in group 6 now?

I think I will email the surgery and if no joy I will contact the consultant.

My DH is on lifelong medication for heart disease. The clinical conditions for Group 6 just says heart problem.

I didn't have any luck getting my GP to amend my CEV status. When I started getting the phonecalls and letters in lockdown 1, I asked them to remove me from the list, but they said they couldn't and to just ignore it.

Hi, yes you can. I had this battle as my mum is in her 60s so not due her vaccination yet. She is CEV but like your husband for some reason wasn't put into that group.
I called up and the receptionist was rude saying she'll get her call when she gets it and they'll get to her age range soon enough. I asked for a dr to call me back, they were lovely and completely understood. They said they couldn't add her to the list but would send an email to the team who were inviting patients in. An hour later she had a call and her vaccine booked.
Please persevere, patients can be missed and it's worth challenging the decisions as they are not always correct. Good luck

Surely it is your husband who needs to deal with this?

@helpfulperson He works full-time and cannot make calls when the surgery is open.

Not sure that heart conditions come under CEV. Have a look at the guidelines for the shielded group:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

If you think there are good clinical reasons why you should be added to the Shielded Patient List, discuss your concerns with your GP or hospital clinician. People with the following conditions are automatically deemed clinically extremely vulnerable:

solid organ transplant recipients
people with specific cancers:
people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy
people with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy
people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
people having other targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
people with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
people with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), homozygous sickle cell disease)
people on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection
problems with your spleen, for example splenectomy (having your spleen removed)
adults with Down’s syndrome
adults on dialysis or with chronic kidney disease (stage 5)
women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired
other people who have also been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of their needs. GPs and hospital clinicians have been provided with guidance to support these decisions

Erm, the vaccine won’t stop him from passing it on to you though. You do realise that right?

All the vaccine will do is give him a milder illness if he catches it. It won’t stop him from potentially catching it or from passing it into others.

@BBCONEANDTWO I don't think he should be on the shielded group. I think he should be in Group 6 not Group 8.

It is me who is in the CEV group.

@Embarrasedaf

Erm, the vaccine won’t stop him from passing it on to you though. You do realise that right?

All the vaccine will do is give him a milder illness if he catches it. It won’t stop him from potentially catching it or from passing it into others.

We don't actually know that.

But either way, if OP has been vaccinated it shouldn't matter that her DH hasn't, except for his own benefit.

Thousand of people are on medication for heart disease. Hundreds of thousands.
Do you mean statins, antihypertensives, anticoagulants? That doesn't make them CEV.
Or something else?

[quote Rillington]@BBCONEANDTWO I don't think he should be on the shielded group. I think he should be in Group 6 not Group 8.

It is me who is in the CEV group.[/quote]
Sorry - can't you speak to his own GP and explain hopefully they can speed it up

As far as I know, it's the IT systems that code people into groups. Unless his medical record isn't up to date, the GP may not be able to change it. I was able to add someone to group 6 by coding them as a carer, which they were, so changing medical coding changes it. His condition may not qualify, but should be able to check that it is at least on his history properly.

I have seen a few that seem to have been randomly coded to the wrong group for no apparent reason though, the system is fallible.

@RagzReturnsRebooted

As far as I know, it's the IT systems that code people into groups. Unless his medical record isn't up to date, the GP may not be able to change it. I was able to add someone to group 6 by coding them as a carer, which they were, so changing medical coding changes it. His condition may not qualify, but should be able to check that it is at least on his history properly.

I have seen a few that seem to have been randomly coded to the wrong group for no apparent reason though, the system is fallible.

This is correct.

I assuming there is a mistake in my medical record somewhere that put me in the CEV group. Which is kind of worrying.

@Rillington

I think I will email the surgery and if no joy I will contact the consultant.

My DH is on lifelong medication for heart disease. The clinical conditions for Group 6 just says heart problem.

The actual qualifying heart conditions are listed in the Green Book as follows

Congenital heart disease, hypertension with cardiac complications, chronic
heart failure, individuals requiring regular medication and/or follow-up for
ischaemic heart disease. This includes individuals with atrial fibrillation,
peripheral vascular disease or a history of venous thromboembolism.

Are you sure he should be in group 6? Having a heart condition does not automatically mean you’re in group 6. My DH has Wolff Parkinson White and that doesn’t put him in group 6 for example.

Group 6 is over 8 million people, it should include everyone with heart disease. Can your husband get an early commuter appointment to talk to the GP? Better to deal with a GP than the receptionist.

@cptartapp

Thousand of people are on medication for heart disease. Hundreds of thousands. Do you mean statins, antihypertensives, anticoagulants? That doesn't make them CEV. Or something else?

The OP doesn’t think he’s CEV, it’s her that’s in that group.

@helpfulperson

Surely it is your husband who needs to deal with this?

And surely they should not, under data protection, be discussing it with anyone else, even his spouse

I think they are being told to be strict on this. Had a call from our GP receptionist today, DH is CEV and I have a condition could be in 6...was told about household contacts of CEV something or other anyway not being on 6, or also being on antipsychotics not being SME either.