AN ELDERLY Oswestry couple has said they have struggled to get an appointment for their latest Covid-19 booster jab after the nearest vaccination centre closed.

David Lloyd and his wife, both 78 years old, received emails about the booster last week.

Since then they have been trying to book an appointment, but have been faced with cancellations and more waiting.

When trying to arrange an appointment on the NHS website, the couple realised that all the centres are far, but they want to get the jab done for their safety.

Mr Lloyd said: “In the past we have gotten our vaccines done at the Orthopaedic Hospital [in Gobowen], but now we found out this is not available anymore.

“After some research we saw that the nearest centres were in Chester, Shrewsbury and Telford – which is obviously not really convenient for the elderly as they are quite far.

“We eventually managed to book an appointment at a pharmacy in Ellesmere, but only by appointment and at very limited capacity.”

OTHER NEWS:

Unfortunately, after they got their appointment sorted the couple received a message saying it had been cancelled.

“We just received this message and were very confused,” said Mr Lloyd. 

“We checked the website again to rebook and our slot is now being shown as ‘available’ for others to book – it is all very confusing.”

He continued: “I spoke to my surgery but they cannot help.

“How are elderly people living in Oswestry supposed to obtain their jab?”

A spokesperson from Shropshire Community Health Trust explained that as the country is moving from the high level alert status for the Covid-19 pandemic, and transitioning to Living with Covid, the vaccination centres are going back to “business as usual”.

They said: “Due to the increasing demands and pressures on GP services, not all of them have signed up to deliver this booster campaign.

“This has had an impact in north Shropshire, Shrewsbury, and parts of Telford. As lead provider we are aware of where the offer is limited and have increased the number of community pharmacies and ‘pop up’ clinics, particularly within north Shropshire given its’ geographical challenges.

“Over the coming weeks during this campaign, we will be holding clinics at Oswestry Fire Station and Oswestry Masonic Hall, details of these clinics will be on the national booking website.”

The trust spokesperson further explained that the capacity is determined by the vaccine availability, and it means that clinics can get booked up quickly and why clinics are not always visible on the national booking website.

Want to stay up to date with all the latest stories from Oswestry and the surrounding area? Click here to sign up for our morning and daily email newsletters and click on the + for the ‘Morning Briefing’ and the 'Daily Catch-Up'.

The spokesperson continued: “The issue of vaccination appointments being cancelled by community pharmacies is not regular practice and we will internally review this episode to understand why this occurred and ensure this does not happy to other people who have booked an appointment.”

To book a Covid vaccine or the booster you can do so on https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/covid-19-services/covid-19-vaccination-services/book-covid-19-vaccination/