NHS Fife would like to apologise for anxiety caused in the delay in allocating appointments to those over 65’s eligible for their annual flu vaccine.
At yesterday’s NHS Fife Board meeting a commitment was made to continue to address the backlog of appointment requests and learn from this experience for future eligible groups and help inform planning for the anticipated COVID-19 vaccine.
NHS Fife wants to assure all those waiting for an appointment that there is more than sufficient vaccine to go round and is committed to restoring public confidence in our ability to deliver our flu vaccination programme across Fife this year. Since our programme started our team has administered over 6,000 flu vaccinations to date.
In order to address the backlog we need to ask those who have received a letter to remain patient and allow us until the end of next week to deal with the backlog of calls, emails and texts before contacting us again. If you have already left a message by phone, email or text please do not get in touch – our call handling team will be in contact with you to arrange your appointment at a location best suited to your individual circumstance.
If you have not yet received a letter inviting you to make an appointment, please do not contact us yet.
NHS Fife Chief Executive, Carol Potter said:
“Over recent days we have put in place a number of measures to increase the capacity we have available to arrange flu appointments. While this has allowed us to begin tackling the backlog of calls and correspondence we have had, we appreciate that some people have continued to experience difficulties making an appointment and we apologise unreservedly for the anxiety that this is causing.
“Our call handlers are working extremely hard in difficult circumstances and, while we appreciate the frustration of those trying to get through, we ask that callers can continue to be polite and courteous to those arranging their appointment.
“In order that we can maximise the number of appointments we can make, it is vital that only those who have already received a letter inviting them to arrange their flu jab – predominantly those over 65 - should contact us.
“People between the ages of 18-64 with eligible health conditions will receive their letter in the coming weeks and should only call once they have received this. Similarly, those who have already made contact by text or email should not call our phone line to check whether these have been received – in such cases we are actively contacting patients to arrange these appointments.
“The flu campaign this year is starting much earlier than in previous years and runs right through to December. While we have had to adapt the way we deliver vaccination this year as a result of COVID-19, there continues to be a sufficient number of appointments available to ensure those who are eligible and want their flu jab will get it.
“I would like to reassure those awaiting an appointment that we continue to have sufficient supplies of vaccine despite the exceptional demand. Furthermore, we are also working closely with community pharmacies across Fife to monitor demand for vaccines, as they receive their vaccines directly from the suppliers.”
