Covid boosters no longer being done at GP?

[Ryannah]

I took my Dad for his booster at the local GP about three weeks ago. It’s my Mum’s turn now but the GP says they can no longer assist with getting her vaccinated. Apparently all Covid clinics have been removed from the local practice, a decision made at the top level by the CCG. So I either have to find out myself where there’s a walk-in centre and get her there, or take her to a vaccination hub (nearest is 10 miles away).

AIBU to think this isn’t exactly going to help with an already slow roll-out? Especially when the people being vaccinated are mostly elderly and vulnerable people who may not have access to cars and internet.

We can do MRex but still will be a 6hr round trip because she doesn't drive and we are working, when she walks past a vaccination centre every day. Hardly accessible.

Blimey you sound privileged! It's no distance and much more cost effective to have one thing in one place. Just be glad you can get the vaccine 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyway I wasn't here to moan about dd just to sympathise with OP.

If you choose to live rurally then you accept that you must travel to certain things. 20 mile round trip is nothing at all OP, in the most gentle way, you need to get a grip.

@Cattitudes

We can do MRex but still will be a 6hr round trip because she doesn't drive and we are working, when she walks past a vaccination centre every day. Hardly accessible.

I meant to call the vaccination centre she walks past every day. They can confirm what evidence they need to vaccinate her.

And honestly, a 6hr round trip!?! That's longer than Falmouth to Bridgewater, London to Derby, Southampton to Leicester. There will definitely be other options if you hop on the phone to find out.

the one that was offered to dh was not accessible to him by public transport initially, until i suggested he call the surgery

My surgery has stopped doing vaccinations, and I can’t say I blame them. All their vaccination clinics were evenings and weekends with the doctors and staff volunteering in their spare time so that they could get us all vaccinated and still run the normal surgery as efficiently as possible.

It would be ridiculously entitled to expect that service to continue indefinitely, so it is right that people who still need vaccination go to a hub. It is much more efficient for the nhs to distribute vaccines that way rather than sending a few out to surgeries here and there for the convenience of patients who could get a family member to take them to a hub if they wanted to.

10 miles is reasonable, when I went on the website it said 60 miles away and I live in a large town!

I waited a week or so and finally went to a walk in in my town.

@PurpleDaisies

I don’t think people understand living rurally.

People do. However, surely if you live rurally it's one if the things you know you have to deal with - things not being in your doorstep.

People who live rurally are never going to have the same facilities, at similar availability and distance, as those who live in cities and towns.

They will not do it at the local one which is online booking over 18 only. It has to be a walk in centre for her category. All the walk in ones which come up on searches involve going through London but London is too far to come up on the searches. We will obviously figure something out but my point is that they are not making this easy.

Anyway need to work now.

I don't see that being rural makes a huge difference. Anyone I know who lives rurally travels to local towns for shopping, optician, dentist, etc and are far more likely to drive than those who live in cities. Rather than viewing it as a separate trip, just book an appointment in the town for the day you would normally be there.

@Cattitudes

No, dd is not vulnerable, it is due to their frontline hospice work, so can't book online has to go to a walk-in centre with staff id. We could go all the way and then find out need different letter/ confirmation and have to come back.

119 should be able to book her in to your local hub based on that information and tell her what proof of employment she needs. It will probably be a long wait on the phone to get through to 119 as they are always really busy but probably less time than it would take you to get to the walk in clinic and back

Just google local walk ins. I got given an appointment in a completely different county miles away. The actual hub is a good distance too - out at the airport so bad traffic as well. I went to the walk in at the treatment centre next door to the pool while my kids were at swimming lessons and was in and out in 5 minutes

I really don’t understand this. A 12-mile round trip is 6 miles. That would be the other side of the town I live in, I have multiple reasons to go there for normal day to day life stuff. Do people who live rurally not normally need to go more than 6 miles from their home for anything? I have no idea how anyone would survive if 6 miles is considered to be an epic journey!

To be fair dc do a hobby 6 miles away and it frequently takes 1h 45 mins to get there.

Rather than viewing it as a separate trip, just book an appointment in the town for the day you would normally be there.

I live rurally and, once a fortnight, shop in the nearest town, some ten miles away. There is no bookable vaccination centre there (I’ve checked the list). The nearest one is fifteen miles beyond that in a town I would normally visit about once a year, if that.

I would have booked my booster by now if it wasn’t for the distance thing. I got my flu jab three miles away. Twenty five for an arguably more essential covid booster seems like somebody has got the priorities arse about face.

@etulosba - without knowing where you live it is hard to help, but if you call your CCG they might be able to look into options for you.

Boots has almost become my GP!
I had my flu injection at my small local Boots and my booster COVID jab at the store in Chester. I booked appointments for OH and me but he was in town a few days prior, called in and received his booster as a walk-in.
I had my vaccination a couple of days ago at the booked appointment and it was completely stress free - I was literally in and out.

to be precis, the one offered to dh was 19 miles away,
going via the gp he is now going 9 miles away, so an 18 mile round trip as opposed to 38 miles!

I live rurally and the nearest centre is 19.5 miles away. No bus route. I don't drive. And I cannot leave my DD ( who is bed bound) alone. So I will wait for my GP to offer them ( I've been told they will) and get a sitter for the 30 minutes needed to pop to the surgery. I will check from time to,time in case it changes. I am CEV and I never go out. Living rurally does make it harder especially you are disabled or elderly. One of my absolute deal breakers was living within walking distance of GP.

Mine didn't give me a choice for my third primary one - I clicked the link from my GP and it was "your jab is at this doctors surgery"
No choice for any others

Seems that lots of surgeries are not even doing house/bedbound patients
DNs did primary ones
Now all they can tell me is that another surgery will be doing them but don't know When!

I got my flu jab three miles away. Twenty five for an arguably more essential covid booster seems like somebody has got the priorities arse about face

THIS!

15 miles for me will involve a £70 taxi fare both ways NO WAY!!!