NHS Lothian Covid-19 vaccine booking system 'overwhelmed' on third day

The phone line operated by NHS Lothian for staff to book Covid-19 vaccinations has been “overwhelmed” on its third day of operation.

The Western General in Edinburgh is one of the Covid-19 vaccination centres.

The line opened on Thursday to allow all NHS Lothian staff members to arrange a Covid-19 vaccination, with a first dose in December and a second dose in January.

But staff members say the service is not fit for purpose, with some staff reportedly on hold for three hours to book a slot.

It comes as the Covid-19 vaccine programme begins in Scotland today, with those administering the vaccine the first to receive it, followed by older adults in care homes and their carers, those over-80, and frontline health and social care workers.

One NHS Lothian staff member, who did not want to be identified, said she felt anxious and annoyed because of the booking system.

“The tension here for me is that I've been working right through the Covid period, right from March, dealing with the public,” she said.

“I was so relieved because of the vaccination, we thought we wouldn’t have it until next year. But then we were just to call, get your appointment, one dose in December, one dose in January and we thought ‘thank god, this is really so good’, it was such a relief.

“And then the anxiety and the annoyance started from Thursday, and I got up early today [Monday] on my day off to specifically make a call so I can try and get my appointment.

“I can imagine with all staff calling at the same time, you know, you've got to hold a bit.

“But at eight o’clock on a Monday morning when a message comes on saying ‘sorry, we’re overwhelmed’, and I tried subsequently a couple of times when I was having my breakfast, and I thought ‘this is just a joke’.”

The staff member said she thought it was unfair for the service to require staff to hold on an 0300 phone number.

“You don’t expect as a staff member to go to a 0300 number that you're paying whatever the rate is for, and then to be on hold,” she said. “If you get an answer straightaway, that's OK, not a problem.

“But if you're holding for two to three hours, how much is how much is it costing you?”

She added: “I’m not complaining about the NHS, I'm complaining about the system that they've set up, which doesn’t seem to be adequate.

“They need to change that somehow and take the anxiety away from staff.”

David Small, NHS Lothian director of primary care services and executive lead for the vaccination programme, said: “We know there have been problems with the new dedicated appointment booking line.

"The phone line has experienced exceptionally high demand since it was introduced last week and while thousands of appointments have been made, we know there are staff who have struggled to get through to an advisor and waited too long on hold.

“We will be making arrangements to reimburse those staff who incurred charges and moving to a free phone number.

"We apologise to our staff who have been affected and aim to have these issues fixed as soon as possible.”

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