Criticism of 'train crash' booster jab rollout on Isle of Wight
Health bosses have announced how they're looking to rectify the situation
Covid booster jab capacity will be increased on the Isle of Wight, following frustration of many residents who were unable to book appointments.
There will be more walk-in vaccine opportunities starting this weekend with a roving, mobile booster vaccine bus.
Since the booster programme was announced, Islanders have struggled to get appointments for their third jab: some have been directed to the mainland; others struggled to get an appointment through the national booking system and there has been widespread confusion across social media.
Having listened to Islanders’ access concerns in the last few weeks, Alison Smith, managing director of the NHS Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), announced measures on Monday night (November 29th) to increase the Island’s Covid booster capacity.
Speaking to the Isle of Wight Council’s health and social care scrutiny committee, Ms Smith said the bus will visit three towns — Freshwater, Ventnor and Sandown twice — between Thursday and Sunday, with the capacity to vaccinate between 250 and 500 people per site but 1,750 vaccines overall.
Ms Smith said:
“I apologise for the confusion, it was not our intention and we will do all we can to unravel this and make sure everybody has the opportunity to get their booster. We need to do better.”
The CCG has been contacted for more information but final details like where and when will be confirmed in the next 24 to 48 hours.
A pop-up clinic will also open at the Isle of Wight College for those 16 and 17-year-olds who have not yet taken up the vaccine offer.
Overall, 62 per cent of those over 40 on the Island have had their booster vaccine and it was announced yesterday (Monday), boosters would be made available to all those over 18 as long as there was a long enough period between their second and third jab.
The confusion in messaging over Covid booster vaccinations on the island has been branded a ‘train crash’.
Expressing a shared frustration of many Islanders, Cllr Clare Mosdell, the Isle of Wight Council’s former health and social care cabinet member said people had lost faith with the vaccine rollout programme.
Speaking at last night’s (Monday) health and social care scrutiny committee meeting, Cllr Mosdell congratulated health partners on the first part of the vaccine rollout but called the most recent third dose rollout a train crash.
When trying to book a booster for her husband, Cllr Mosdell said it took three weeks and checking the national booking system at all hours of the day for a slot at the Riverside Centre to become available.
She said:
“We need some assurance … there has been complete confusion. It is going to take a huge amount of communication for faith to be restored with people getting their vaccination.”
Dr Matt Nisbet, the clinical lead for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Covid vaccination programme, also apologised for any ‘poor experiences’ residents had had.
He said one of the difficulties with the booster rollout was it is more complicated than the beginning of the programme, when things were set up to be more simple.
It was ‘quite more complex’, he said, with different vaccines for different people and varying wait times between doses.
Extra capacity was already in place, Dr Nisbet said, for booster vaccines for those over 40 before Christmas but following the announcement yesterday afternoon that everyone over 18 would be offered a booster, work has started to fit more in.
A motion was unanimously approved by the scrutiny committee, as a result of the ongoing accessibility concerns, to urgently call on the CCG to provide ‘clear, realistic, consistent and relevant’ information about jabs and how to book them and asked that Healthwatch Isle of Wight be consulted.