The Parish Council has received the following update from the Little Waltham GP surgery regarding the availability of the Covid 19 vaccine -
As you will be aware the national vaccination programme is well underway with the focus now on completing the remaining patients in the first four priority cohorts as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The programme is run and managed centrally by NHS England.
Vaccines are distributed to mass vaccination centres, primary care (General Practice) designated sites, secondary care (Hospital Trusts) and some pharmacy providers.
When you receive a letter from NHS England inviting you to book a vaccine we understand that you will be offered an appointment at one of the mass vaccination sites which includes The Lodge in Wickford, Colchester Stadium and Chelmsford City Racecourse.
Little Waltham and Great Notley Surgery is not a designated site. We do not, therefore, receive direct deliveries of vaccine. In order to increase access to the vaccine for our patients we are working in collaboration with Beacon Health Group and our ‘designated site’ for receiving vaccines is Danbury Medical Centre.
We are contacting patients to offer an appointment for those who can travel to our designated site in Danbury.
As supplies at Danbury allow, we will also be able to bring a proportion of vaccines to Little Waltham and Notley Surgery to vaccinate those patients who cannot travel to Danbury or a mass-vaccination site. In the last few weeks we have done this and vaccinated our old-age care home and a good proportion of our housebound elderly patients. This week we have also run a vaccination clinic from Great Notley. Given the limited number of vaccines these are primarily for those patients who would struggle to get to Danbury. In time this capacity is likely to increase and we hope to offer more choice but this is entirely dependent on the volume of vaccine delivered to Danbury and they do not have any control over how many vaccines are sent to them each week (as well as only being given a few days notice which adds to the difficulty in planning ahead).
We appreciate that everyone would like their vaccine to be given at a location as close and convenient to home as possible and we are working hard to achieve this in the long term. Due to the way that the vaccination programme has been set up to maximise delivery of vaccine to as many people in the shortest time possible many will be offered appointments that will require them to travel further than they would otherwise wish. If you are able to do so then we would urge you to accept these appointments. If you are not able to travel you will have access to the vaccine locally but may have to wait a little longer.
We are able to see who has had a vaccine and who has not. If we have vaccine available here at Little Waltham and Great Notley, it is your ‘turn’ according to the JCVI, and you have not yet received one, WE WILL contact you. In the meantime please do not contact the surgery here or at Danbury to enquire and please do ensure you continue to follow all the guidance to control the spread of the virus and save lives.
With best wishes
Little Waltham and Great Notley Surgery
For more information please visit the surgery's website
page last updated 4 February 2021