When NHS covid vaccination for my age group was opened at the beginning of June, I tried to book an appointment but I could not because on the website there was no information on the vaccine that I would be having. On the 119 phone line they refused to book an appointment for me as I needed Astrazeneca and am under 40 and they did not know how I could get vaccinated, walk in centres also had no information about the vaccine they delivered and were only giving mRNA vaccine to under 40 (with no info about how under 40 with contra indication could get vaccinated).
I was eventually told that my GP surgery should be vaccinating me. I contacted them they agreed that as both mRNA vaccine contained a component I was allergic to I could get the Astrazeneca instead even if I was under 40 and gave me a date a few weeks later for a vaccination appointment at the gp surgery. But a day before the appointment they called me again saying that they were afraid I might get a bad reaction to Astrazeneca too and that they had no time in the surgery to look after me properly so they would need to referred me to have the vaccine administered in an hospital setting. Told me this should take a week a two but I never heard back! When I chased it up it turned out the hospital had refused the referral and told my gp to refer me for allergy advice instead (this one was a 4 weeks wait).
In the mean time more information from media outlets and local authorities became available about the vaccine offered and the eligibility condition of many vaccination hubs in London so I looked for those who had AstraZeneca and contacted a few to ask if I could walk in even as an under 40.
The admin person at Guy's St Thomas hub told me that I could not walk in on that day has they were out of Astrazeneca but they booked me in for the following week and said that if I came with a letter from my GP confirming the allergy and asked to speak to the "prescriber" as soon as I arrived at the hub I would be redirected to the Astra zeneca tent and be vaccinated. But on the day of my appointment the prescriber did not believe me, even with the letter from my GP, they kept saying that Astrazeneca would not be safe even in an hospital setting like theirs!
They asked to speak to my parents, then wanted me to come back another day (after having travelled hours across London!) with old medical records proving the allergy... I was treated like a liar, a kid, a nuisance, a stupid person! They did not know themselves what the components of the vaccines were and would have happily jabbed me with something I was allergic to without even asking if I had not raised it, but they were blocking me from accessing a vaccine that was safe for me, and claiming that leaving me with no protection for Covid was-in my best interest-when no one had asked me what my best interest was, even when I told them that I had been raped by NHS staff in the past at another NHS trust and that I have PTSD because of that event, under the guise of -my best interest- they still kept treating me like crap in my opinion and repeating nonsense and claiming on loop that denying me informed consent and access to care was “in my best interest”. No one enquired about safeguarding or support following my mention of incidents at another NHS trust and neither did they make any effort or proposal to discuss how they could help calm down before sending me home or how to discuss my vaccine option in a manner that would not be triggering for me.
They did not let me speak to the AZ prescriber myself nor let me go to the correct tent. Instead, they referred me to their allergy clinic for a phone advice with 4 weeks wait! and never apologised for wasting my time, treating me like crap or discriminating against me with such a long wait.
Then the allergy specialist called and they had wrong information (thought my GP had referred me when actually it was the hub) did not believe me either, denied their colleague mistreatment, refuse to talk logically, refused to admit that I should have been allowed to have Astrazeneca in the first place. The doctor didn't demonstrate any understanding of UK law or medical ethics as they kept referring to the very low risk of blood clots as something that they had to protect me from (despite risk of blood clots having now been confirmed to be as high for AZ as for mRNA vaccines), and completely ignored patients autonomy, or that it is for patients to decide what their best interest is and what risks (extremely low risk of clots Vs risk of catching/passing on covid for ex) they are willing to take or not. This person refused to apologise for the delays and did not even tell me how I would get my vaccine now that they have finally agreed that AZ is safe for me.
The NHS gave me (nor other patient) no accurate information on the actual risks or compositions of the vaccines, no choice and discriminated against under 40s with allergies by blocking them from booking appointment through the normal route. I had to look up for all that info on my own otherwise I would have had an allergic reaction to Pfizer/Moderna that the NHS did not screen for at all, figure out on my own where to get vaccinated, called my GP many times, did everything I was told to and was still blocked from vaccination and treated like a stupid person and a nuisance anyway!
I have no family at all in the UK and was nearly blocked from seeing them after over a year because of the delays caused by all the people who refused to vaccinate me!
I don't understand how staff can act like they care and do the right thing for patients when the deny patients choice over their own care and basic respect, rights & dignity
Reception
Staff attitude
Being listened to
Explanations
Involved in decisions
