Flu jab

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.

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.......

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

I work for a surgery & we have flu vaccines in our fridges. They have been given with COVID booster over the past couple of weekends but have also been offered at appts in the surgery.

Here is the latest info on flu jags in this area. It doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence that we’ll get a jag at all, given that it’ll be October next week. A pharmacy in my very small town has advertised that it’s going to be offering flu vacc this year. That’s never happened before, the nearest place has been Aberdeen itself. The pharmacy must be expecting to make a profit this year otherwise they wouldn’t be bothering.

On the state of the NHS in Scotland, one local community here is having to fund-raise to buy its own ambulance and run it with volunteer staff, because of the lack of service. One poor woman has died from lack of cover. My pregnant daughter has had phone appointments for her antenatal care. You can’t measure blood pressure, do urine tests or palpate the baby over the phone! She’s now been told that the maternity unit where she plans to have the baby could have short-notice closures and if that happens when she goes into labour, she’ll have to find a different hospital willing to take her. I fear for my daughter and her baby’s life, I really do.

I hope I get a new jag when I report for my flu jab

No offense meant, it just made me smile.

maddyone

I hope I get a new jag when I report for my flu jab

No offense meant, it just made me smile.

That would be nice Maddyone my DH has a beautiful jag but he really could do with a F Pace now he is getting on a bit lol

Jags is the word used in Scotland for jabs. The cars are Jaguars.

I tried to book a flu jab at our local pharmacy but they said they wouldn't have the over 65 one in till the middle of October. I had to ring the surgery for some test results so I asked them and was booked in for a flu jab on Saturday morning.

Iused to work in the NHS and they would roll out staff vaccination late October to mid November. The informed us that the efficacy of the vaccine is approx 3 months, with the main 'flu season' being January-February, it's far better to have it later rather than in September.

I always wait until at least the end of October now.

Alegrias my posts about the situation in Scotland are, I suppose, a way of venting. I feel really quite emotional about what's happening in the NHS that I worked in all my life. SueDonim's post is frankly frightening. I despair.

Bit pedantic I guess but why is a vaccination called a jag over the border I can understand a Jab as that’s what happening you get jabbed by a needle but a jag where does that come from?
This isn’t meant to be nasty just interested in the origin

Last year, the surgery invited me (by text) to support them by having my flu jab at the surgery so it clearly does affect their funding.
I received my invite for this year’s jab about a month ago, again by text, and followed the link to book an appointment for tomorrow. Husband received his text at the same time, we have consecutive appointments.

SpringyChicken

Last year, the surgery invited me (by text) to support them by having my flu jab at the surgery so it clearly does affect their funding.
I received my invite for this year’s jab about a month ago, again by text, and followed the link to book an appointment for tomorrow. Husband received his text at the same time, we have consecutive appointments.

Yes, it does affect their funding.

I was a little reluctant to have mine at my local pharmacy for that reason, but the GP doesn't know when doses will be arriving and I really dislike the cattle market atmosphere. They've been told to do flu and Covid boosters at the same time, so that would have meant waiting until mid November, which I wasn't willing to do.

We're booked to have our flu jabs next weekend at local racecourse where we had our covid jabs. Earlier flu booking was rescheduled due to supply problems. It all runs very efficiently at Ripon racecourse.

I'm glad people are getting their flu vaccinations, but am curious why everyone seems to be rushing to do it. I have always understood that it is better to wait until about November as that gives better coverage over the "likely" flu season.

I suppose it does help to spread the demand out over a longer period.