NHS Lothian set up ‘dedicated team’ to assist with those affected by vaccine booking glitch which caused appointments to be cancelled

Following a minor fault with the Scottish government’s vaccine booking line on the weekend of February 6 and 7 which led those phoning to rearrange appointments to have them cancelled, NHS Lothian are in the process of setting up a ‘dedicated team’ to deal with enquiries.

Dozens in the Lothians were affected by a glitch in the vaccine booking line which caused their appointments to be cancelled

The glitch which the government described as a ‘minor fault’ left dozens of Lothian residents in the over 75s age group without appointments with many struggling to rebook.

When residents called the vaccine helpline, some reported that they had been told that there was no record of an appointment and were advised to contact NHS Lothian or their GP.

NHS Lothian however advised that they had no access to the vaccine booking portal to rearrange the appointments.

Many who were affected have now received phone calls to advise that their appointment have been rescheduled and have a new date, but there are some individuals who are still left without appointments.

To deal with queries which are being passed on by the national vaccine helpline, NHS Lothian are now setting up a dedicated team with ‘specialist knowledge and local expertise’ to assist with the matter, however there is currently no word of when the line will be live.

David Small, director of primary care transformation and executive lead for the vaccination programme, NHS Lothian, said: “We are currently expanding our capacity in order to create a dedicated team within NHS Lothian to answer some of the queries that have been referred on by the national helpline.

“These are enquiries that require specialist knowledge and local expertise from NHS Lothian.”

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