"4 hour queue for boosters"

Last weekend my husband and I attended the Clackmannanshire Community Health Centre for our COVID19 booster vaccines. We booked our slots 40 minutes apart to allow time for any delays and because we have children to care for, so one of us was always needed to stay in the car waiting with them. I feel this should have been a more than adequate spacing.

However, there simply weren't enough vaccinators to manage the number of slots allocated and the whole process took nearly 4 hours. The queues in the building were long, with over 50 people crammed into a small space for a prolonged period, posing a significant infection risk. I found it simply farcical and as a nurse I am surprised that this situation hasn't been escalated by the staff. 

The healthcare assistants were very friendly and apologetic; they were also attending to elderly patients who needed to sit down due to the long waits and co-ordinating their place in the queue. However, there were just 3 vaccinators and only 2 when co-ordinating their breaks. We were there for so long that we saw this process. 

As a result of the extreme delays, our plans for the day were ruined and we missed a family birthday gathering. Many other people simply abandoned their appointments as they had children to pick up and other engagements to attend. As a result, I think many people are now missing their boosters. 

My previous two vaccinations in Fife were far simpler. Straight in, lots of vaccinators on site and straight out after a 15 minute monitoring period. Highly efficient. 

As more and more people now need their boosters to mitigate the effects of Omicron, I think NHS Forth Valley will need to step up the effort in CCHC significantly. It's a central hub and I feel it is massively letting down the effort at present.