Musselburgh medical practice vaccine shortage leaves 300 over-75s without Covid-19 jab

A doctor’s surgery in East Lothian has been unable to vaccinate 300 of their high-risk patients due to lack of supplies available.

The shortfall can be revealed after the Scottish government aimed to give a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine to all over-70s by Monday.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said everyone in this group should have been offered an appointment.

But Riverside Medical Practice in Musselburgh confirmed that 300 of their patients over-75 are still waiting for one.

Pauline McHoul, a patient at Riverside Medical Practice, receiving the Covid vaccine from Lead Nurse Diane Fyffe

Dr Richard Fairclough said that this is due to supply and logistics issues which other local GP surgeries are also facing.

The practice partner said: “We’re aware of the various announcements stating that all of the first four priority groups have been offered an appointment for the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“However we can only vaccinate as fast as supplies allow, and as of early this week were still short of the number of doses we'd need to offer first appointments to all of our 75-79 year old and shielding patients.

"This has caused confusion for our patients and has this week impacted our ability to serve those with urgent health concerns, due to the large volumes of calls we've understandably been getting about the vaccine.”

The Scottish government aimed to give a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine to all over-70s by Monday.

The practice has 1100 patients aged between 75-79 and 800 have been vaccinated – with 300 still waiting to receive their first dose.

Practice patient Alexander Brown, 75, said the Scottish government’s management of vaccinations has been a ‘disgrace’.

He said: “According to the Scottish government I should have been vaccinated by Monday but I have not even been offered an appointment yet.

“I don’t blame the practice at all, they have been great at getting information out online but their work has been stifled because they don't have the supplies they need.

“It’s an absolute disgrace that there are 300 people from one practice in this situation.”

Dr Fairclough is hopeful that the practice will receive the remaining vaccinations needed by the end of this week.

He said: "Thanks to the support of our colleagues at the East Lothian Health & Social Care Partnership, we hope to receive the shortfall this week and after we do so will contact all remaining patients to offer appointments as soon as possible.

"We ask all patients to please wait for us to call them. Supply issues aside, the vaccination programme at Riverside is progressing well: vaccine uptake is high and our team are doing a great job getting everyone into the surgery as soon as possible."

Musselburgh MSP Colin Beattie said: “I have alerted the Scottish government, who will investigate why there has been a local supply issue. However, I’d like to make it very clear the mid-February date was not a deadline but rather a target for GP practices to aim for. For those not yet contacted there is no need to panic, you will still receive a vaccination and will be contacted soon.

“The vaccination programme is a mammoth undertaking and has, on the whole, been extremely successful.”

However, Scottish Conservatives leader, Douglas Ross MP, accused Ms Sturgeon of “misleading” the public over vaccine rates for the most vulnerable.

He said: “It’s shocking that the First Minister has tried to dupe the public about meeting key targets.

“The public need to know they’re getting honest and accurate information from the First Minister. She must apologise for this completely unacceptable attempt to hide the truth.

“Putting her party’s reputation ahead of genuine, open and truthful information during the pandemic is shameful.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “All letters for vaccinations are being prioritised and issued as quickly as possible. As the First Minister said earlier this week, we are satisfied that we met our target to offer vaccines to everyone over 70, and everyone who has an extreme, clinical vulnerability, by mid-February. However, as will be the case in any large scale system, we can’t rule out the possibility that some letters might have gone astray or been sent to the wrong address.

“If you are over 70 or shielding and have not received a letter, please contact your GP or local NHS health board by phone or via the new online form at NHS inform.

“Our vaccination programme will flex to respond to supply and as the First Minister and Health Secretary indicated last week, we are expecting less supply over the next few weeks so it is to be expected there will be fewer vaccinations than in previous days. Each Board has developed plans to ensure that all available supply will be utilised, having targeted initial supplies to GP practices based on local practice populations.

“We are aware of over 960 primary care locations, the majority of which are GP practices, all of whom are seeking supplies of vaccines to cover their target population and the demand is greater than the current vaccine supply. We are working with the UK Government to see whether we can improve the pace of the vaccine supply to them and meantime Health Boards are seeking local solutions to help GP practices in need of immediate vaccine supplies.

“The pace of our national vaccine programme is dependent on vaccine supply and delivery timescales and we continue to work closely across the four nations to ensure this is as smooth as possible.”

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