"Waiting for a Vaccination for my elderly Mother"

I am writing about my mother, who is in her late 90's.

My mother is still waiting to be told when she will receive her first Covid vaccination.

She is housebound and receives 4 carer visits each day. I have Power of Attorney and am also responsible for her care. 

Following the advice put out by the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland, I had held off contacting my Mum’s doctor, but having heard nothing I contacted her GP practice in late January. I was advised that I should speak to the District Nurses, who I called the following Monday morning. I was then advised that I should again speak to Mum’s GP practice. The GP surgery advised me that there had been a mix up and that my mother was on the "Housebound List" but still couldn’t tell me when she would receive her jab because the vaccine was being administered by a team that was not connected to the practice.

The GP surgery advised me when I called again later in the week that she may not get her vaccination until the following week but still could not tell me when this would be, only that the vaccination team would contact my mother or me before visiting. When I called again on the Friday they again confirmed she was on the "Housebound List” and they thought the vaccination team may be working over the weekend. However, it is now the end of the weekend and we have still not heard anything.

My Mum is becoming increasingly concerned that she has not yet been vaccinated and that the message being put out by the Scottish and UK governments and the news media is at odds with her own experience.

Today I called the Public Health Scotland Coronavirus Helpline to see if they could help, or at least shed some light on my mother's situation. Unfortunately, despite much sympathy and patient listening to my Mum's story, after 4 phone calls, passing me from "option 2" to "option 1" and back again, I was none the wiser - in fact less so, since the Helpline could find no record of my Mum's CHI number so it would appear that she is not even on the system. 

The Coronavirus Helpline said they could do no more but gave me contact details advising me to make a complaint to the NHS and Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board. I said I wasn't trying to make a complaint and that I was just trying to make sure my Mum did not slip through the net, however, the helpline advisor suggested this would be the best way for me to go about it. I am now in the process of going through the various links and phone numbers although many seem to be Page not found or have messages along the lines of The feedback service is temporarily suspended as our teams are supporting management of the coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has said its Covid vaccination programme is exceeding expectations and that at 93% coverage it had met it's target to vaccinate the over 80s by the 5 February.

The other 7% percent includes people like my mother and not just those who are unable or unwilling to receive the jag. They say that the programme is delivering ahead of expectations but I am worried that the focus is now on larger, younger groups and that some of the most vulnerable people, like my mother, are now being left behind.

I am contacting here to do all that I can to bring my mother's case to the attention of those in charge of the delivery of the vaccine so that my mother and those in a similar situation are not forgotten by those charged with their care.