[ad_1]
Hundreds of appointments for the Covid-19 vaccine will go to waste as healthcare workers are scheduled for injections they no longer need and cannot cancel.
The Irish Examiner reports that 1,329 healthcare workers were scheduled to receive injections yesterday at Dublin’s Citywest vaccination center, but only 757 attended, the HSE confirmed.
The chairman of the Irish Medical Organization’s committee of GPs, Dr Denis McCauley, said that as GPs become more involved in launching the vaccine, the system will become more efficient as their surgeries are computerized.
Speaking at Newstalk Breakfast, Dr. McCauley said that the “absences” at the vaccination center on Thursday were due to duplication, as some healthcare workers could work in four different departments and thus would have received four texting about vaccination.
The problem was in the IT system of the HSE-run clinics, he added. “It’s IT systems with people on numerous lists.”
‘Emotional change’
Moving to an age-based system where the date of birth will be the deciding factor will make things easier, he said.
As a doctor who lives near the border, Dr. McCauley said he had seen the “emotional change” in Northern Ireland when the vaccine was launched. “Body language is much more hope.” He said he expected to see more optimism in the Republic.
Flaws in the front-line worker scheduling system for jabs mean that people can often be eligible in more than one category or register in more than one location, getting multiple appointments that are later wasted.
A pharmacist working in Dublin received the vaccine in Northern Ireland, but then received four separate appointments at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
Unable to reply to the number that is texting the appointment.
Then the pharmacist spent more than two hours trying to cancel the appointment or change the name so that a colleague could take advantage of the space, without being able to speak to anyone despite calling many numbers.
An HSE spokesperson said: “Issues arose due to ongoing work in separate teams to clear up the residue of Cohort 2 applicants. Work has now been done to ensure this does not happen again.
“When inquiries were received, people were told to accept the most convenient one. No vaccine was wasted as a result of this small number of double dates.
“The HSE apologizes for any inconvenience caused.”
Extra hit
In a further blow to confidence in the implementation schedule, an independent review found that a consultant from Coombe Children’s and Women’s Hospital took two doses of the vaccine home to give to family members.
Ireland
Coombe’s doctor brought the Covid-19 vaccines home by fa …
16 family members of the hospital staff, including the children of the hospital’s lead professor Michael O’Connell, were confirmed to have received the vaccine with leftover doses remaining on January 8, as the early stages of launching the vaccine began.
The review found that a consultant had the leftover vaccine in a diluted vial and took it off the hospital campus to give it to the family.
The consultant did not recall a segment in a training video stating that it is not possible to transport open vials, the review found.
The report comes amid ongoing concerns over the vaccine launch, and the government cut commitments to administer 1 million doses this month. – Additional information: Vivienne Clarke
[ad_2]