Flu jab

I usually get offered a flu jab, as I have mild Asthma. I don't always bother, though.

This year, I rang the surgery, was told I'm not eligible - even though in July I had Covid, the Pneumonia, was on a ventilator for 2 weeks, had a stroke whilst on the ventilator. I asked the receptionist to please check, she came back and said yes, I am eligible. November 15th.

Have mine booked in for tomorrow at my local Boots store-a 10 minute walk away. Online booking process fast and easy with many appointments available. It's more convenient for me than the 40 minute bus journey proposed by my gp surgery

Oh, I should have mentioned - the 5 minutes walk for DM and DF took them to the local sports centre, where the health board had organised a super-efficient production line of people getting their jags delivered by GPs and nurses.

My good experiences don't negate anybody's bad ones, but we've all got anecdotes.

Given that my surgery couldn't tell me when the next available appointment for jabs would be, I went and booked appointments for us at Boots. Surgery also couldn't tell us when they would be able to give us Covid boosters, they used to be excellent but not quite so good now.

No GPs is it? No pharmacies, someone said above?

Picked this at random from the Health Boards.

In Forth Valley flu clinics are being delivered at Falkirk Community Hospital, Stirling Health and Care Village, Stirling University (until the end of October 2021), Clackmannanshire Community Healthcare Centre, 55 local pharmacies and a small number of GP practices in more rural areas (who will arrange their own appointments).

Health is a disgrace in Scotland at the moment, Yousaf seems out of his depth. However I'm not delighting in the problems we have and coming on here to make sure everybody knows we're in a bad way and its all our own fault.

Alegrias and SueDonim look at year GPs were giving the flu jabs but not this year. Hence the problems organising them.
Health is reserved to Scotland and any doctor will tell you what a shambles it currently is. Unfortunately, this can't be blamed on Westminster Nicola!

Our surgery has advised that there is a flu vaccine shortage and they will be in contact as soon as they have some.

Booked in at boots for Saturday morning also had a text from GP surgery today but already got it booked My GP is a bus ride away whereas boots is where I shop so easier for me
Waiting to hear about the booster I believe you have to wait a week

I'm not sure the location of my small town counts as central belt , but DM and DF are certainly not in the central belt, they're closer to where you are SueDonim. Probably a bit further north. And got flu jabs last year within 5 minutes walk of their house. Delivered by their GP (who I was at school with!).

Maybe this year it will all fall apart, being as we're in free fall and all.

Lucky you, getting a call for a flu jab, Alegrias! We get no such service here. We might or might not get a letter which tells us to phone for an appointment, and when you do phone, if anyone answers the call, you’ll be told all the clinics are already booked and you end up having to pay privately. That happened to us. On the up side, at least I got points on my Boots Advantage card.

As for GP’s, we’ve been fortunate enough not to need much interaction with them but on the few occasions we have contacted them via e-consult or phone, there has been no response or follow-up calls haven’t materialised.

I suspect that being outwith the Central Belt has a lot to do with it. We’ve been starved of money and services here.

What baffles me is the fact that GP surgeries cannot get stocks of the flu jab but commercial outlets e.g. Tesco, Boots etc have plenty of supplies. Doesn't seem right somehow.......

DM in Scotland has a sore leg.

Phoned the nurse on Monday morning, got called back at 3pm that afternoon and issued with a prescription which she picked up at 4pm.

Guess it depends on your definition of free fall. But the Tories et al are falling over themselves with glee that they got the FM to use the word crisis. The ambulance service is in a bad way, but I get p***ed off with the constant need to diss the whole service.

I'll be waiting for my call for the flu jab, like I do every year, instead of skipping off to get it done in a local pharmacy, hence jumping the queue and quite possibly getting it too early. But I guess that's just me.

Scotland doesn’t do the free-jabs-in-pharmacies scheme, or at least not in my area.

The NHS is Scotland is in freefall atm. We’ve been told by the Health Minister to think twice about calling 999 and also to not bother our GP unless we need to. ?‍♀️

Our local chemists has done flu jabs previous years and has been very efficient, but this year is only doing private ones where you pay. Their advice was wait to be called by your doctors surgery. Going on previous experience this may take a while.

I get mine done at the GP, usually around this time if year. I’m hoping though that I can delay it by a month or two as I read it’s better to have it later on, say December. Apparently it’s more effective then but I can’t remember why.

GPS in Scotland are no longer contracted to do flu jabs. Apparently we're all supposed to be called in to large central locations. It's not going well. People are being sent appointments for places miles away. In one case an elderly man would have needed 8 buses to get there and back. No alternative appointment offered.
That's why we're off to Boots!

Very young babies have several vaccines in one go!

had a text from my GP to say they would be contacting re having the Flu and covid jab at same time but no date given yet, not looking forward to having both at same time

We both have ours done at the Doctors. Just received text for mid October. They tend to do them outside normally surgery hours. Our appointments are in evening which suits us really well.

Having flu jab at pharmacies is helping towards privatisation of the NHS as they are paying the chemists to do NHS work. Stick with your GP surgery for your jabs. Protect the NHS ! Every little helps. Also don’t arrange with private companies who seem like NHS to deliver your prescriptions to you. Stick with using your local pharmacy as you would miss them if they weren’t there and these large postal prescription companies are causing local pharmacies to close.

GrandmaKT

I've had mine in previous years at Boots (when I paid for it when I was under 60). I received an invitation from them this year. However, I've also had a letter from the GP surgery saying they will be offering the flu jabs (no timescale), so please support the surgery and don't go elsewhere.
I'm a bit torn. I know there is a payment involved, and want to support the surgery, but another surgery in town has cancelled all theirs because they can't get supplies. I hope I don't miss out by waiting for the GP!

If you're eligible for a free flu jab it doesn't matter whether you have it at the surgery or pharmacy, it'll still be free.

Last year the practice I am with made me go to a different site for my jab as they said they could make it more Covid safe. I got a text from the pharmacy attached to my normal surgery saying I was eligible for the flu jab and to ask when I was next in. I went to collect my prescriptions last Friday and asked. They were doing them that afternoon and I got mine there and then.

We went in to local chemist this morning to ask and they did it there and then.
We will probably be due our Covid booster some time in October . I felt better not having them too close together. I’m sure there is no medical reason why you shouldn’t, just how I feel.

We had our flu jabs at boots yesterday. Woke up at 3am shivering and feeling awful. Feeling better as the morning goes on. I prefer to book my own appointment at a chemist when it suits us, rather than wait for doctors to decide when they fit us in.

I got a text from my GP Tuesday afternoon to say they were doing a walk-imn clinic 8am-6pm Weds, so went and got mine yesterday teatime