Everyone over 70 in England can book themselves!

My GP surgery made it very clear both on their website and by text that people still had to wait to be invited for their injection. I now have that invitation and have booked my appointment. It would be a bit of a free for all otherwise.

‘I’m All Right Jack!’ prevails.

As with so much Covid related stuff, just because you ‘can’, doesn’t mean you ‘should’.

My daughter informed me that the local hospital had a special email address for booking over eighties. There was a list of info needed or it would be rejected. That was date of birth, national health number, hospital number if known, our address and name doctor and address. My husband is 81 and I am eighty in July. I put my husband’s details first and then added mine in the hope I might be included. We received appointments for the following week. This was for the phizer jab. Have got appointments for the second but don’t know if that will come about with possible delays.

Ps if it hadn’t been for someone on Facebook giving this email out my dd wouldn’t have known about it. Other people around here rang up the hospital and the word went around that Guys and St Thomas’ were making telephone appointments for over seventies. So some over seventies travelled up to London which I wouldn’t have done.

CalendarGirl the posts on here show that there is a shambles - not of the medical workers but of the admin of notification and booking.

FarNorth.

No, as mentioned previously, the shambles is a result of someone being clever, by-passing the proper system, bragging about how to do it and others following suit.

If we all did as instructed and waited for our rightful turn, the system would be fine.

What about all the people who do not have i pads, smart phones, internet etc or who are unable to use modern technology? Are they to be sent to the back of the queue as a result? I suspect in the ‘me me’ first society we live in they will be.

I posted on another thread that I thought it was 'pretty despicable' to book when you haven't been invited. I was accused of 'attacking someone verbally' who had booked without being invited.
I did no such thing as I posted before I knew anyone on here had done this. I duly apologised as I had no intention of upsetting anyone.

It’s usually the people who’ve messed up the system who moan the loudest about the system not working.

If you don’t have internet access, I’m sure your GP surgery will contact you. I was speaking, at a distance, to an 85 year old man when we were queuing for our prescriptions. He had been the day before for his jab to the surgery. he had received a letter about it. I don’t think he had the internet.

We are assured that no one will be missed.

Gwyneth when people get the notification by letter they can phone to book an appointment. Most people can manage that I think. There is also a “sweep” on the system that will enable GPs to contact anyone that has not been vaccinated once the initial drive to get everyone done is over.

Actually Kate it is ‘pretty despicable ‘ to book when you haven’t been invited. However, the system should not allow this to happen.

Yes Calendargirl We have the internet but our GP's surgery rang yesterday with our appointments. We didn't have to do anything. Very efficient.

Thanks Gwyneth. I felt bad about my post when I realised people on here were doing it. I've always tried to stay away from anything contentious on here but it seems I've inadvertently put my foot in it!

I got a phone call from my GP's surgery on a Friday and was booked for the next Wednesday. The letter arrived on the Friday after I'd had the vaccine. I think some places are working so well they are beating the letter send out rate.

That’s good to hear Peasblossom most people as you say have a phone and a ‘sweep’ on the system should ensure that vulnerable people don’t miss out.

Gwyneth

Then the techie was very wrong to do this and you’re right Peasblossom as a result people won’t wait until they’re called. It’s very selfish, but then that’s human behaviour sadly.

So how stupid are those of us waiting to be called? This is madness of the sort we had at the beginning of the pandemic. I agree Gwyneth. it's very selfish but them we have been living in a me, me, me country for some decades.

them then

It’s certainly selfish to risk messing up the whole system just to get in first.

Ideally the system wouldn’t allow it but it was decided that it was too much of an administrative burden on GPs to ask them to release in tranches rather than one priority group at a time and that the tranches would then be administered centrally, by people who weren’t trying to run a Practice at the same time!

We are waiting for my husband to be called. Over 70, Stage 4 cancer, currently on chemo obviously he isn’t one of the queue jumpers. How very very sad.

I really hope your husband is called very soon* Oldbat *as he should be due to his illness.

My dd’s MiL had that ‘do you know your NHS number’ thing and was worried that it could be a scam.

Dd (43) tried putting in her own details - to see whether it was eventually going to demand payment - and was told she wasn’t eligible.

Cherrytree 59 Thank you for this information. I have booked an appointment and can now go at the same time as my husband,
I don't feel guilty as I am almost 75 with underlying conditions and the vaccine hub we need to travel to is a distance away.

I’m just wondering Framilode how you would have felt if you and your husband had gone onto the website and found it had crashed because lots of people had decided not to wait until they were called.

Who would you have blamed?

Peasblossom Most of the dates offered were hardly taken up at all. The site is quite content for the over 70's to book. If you are under 70 it will not accept you.