The Lemon Fool

Will my medical practice automatically invite me for a jab as I am over 65 please?

I found out that they have a clinic today and I have not had anything from them at all.

Their website just gives arrival instructions.

Thanks.

feder1 wrote:Will my medical practice automatically invite me for a jab as I am over 65 please?

I found out that they have a clinic today and I have not had anything from them at all.

Their website just gives arrival instructions.

Thanks.

I had an invitation by letter, I think at the end of August, to attend on 12th September (2 weeks ago). They started early this year because of Covid-19. My neighbour went last Saturday the 19th September.

I got an invite to a session for 19th september, was away then. Had my jab at the local pharmacist yesterday.

You've all been having them already?

My GP practice sent out a message on August 3rd/5th[1], saying basically Wait to be contacted.

Revisiting it just now, I read "... will be contacted soon". Hmmm, is this soon, in the context of a message from the beginning of August?

[1] Text message Aug 5th pointing to a page dated Aug. 3rd.

I got mine done at the chemist the other day, it's still done on the NHS free for qualifying people. My local surgery seem to be doing a mass vaccination today but I never received official notification which is unusual as they usually let me know,

I had a text from my surgery, telling me not to book my appointment yet because the vaccines hadn't arrived yet.

It might be relevant in this context that the over-64s get a different shot from other people. But it does nothing to assuage my worries about the supply of imported medical stuff after the first of January.

BJ

In addition to my Dr's surgery already doing the flu jabs, my local pharmacy has a sign up flu vaccinations available there.

richfool wrote:In addition to my Dr's surgery already doing the flu jabs, my local pharmacy has a sign up flu vaccinations available there.

We've had texts from our GP surgery telling us of flu jabs sessions, but our pharmacy was advertising flu jabs a couple of months ago so we put our names down. They rang last month to make appointments for my wife and me and we had them yesterday. All very straightforward and no queueing. Our GP surgery is a little cramped so we were a little reluctant to go there, although I'm sure they too would have organised it pretty well.

niord wrote:I got mine done at the chemist the other day, it's still done on the NHS free for qualifying people. My local surgery seem to be doing a mass vaccination today but I never received official notification which is unusual as they usually let me know,

When we missed the GP's mass vaccination week due to a holiday a couple of years ago, we considered going to the local pharmacy instead. It would be free of charge as qualifying pensioners, but we were told by friends that what happened behind the scenes was that the pharmacy claimed the 'fee' for providing the service from the local GP practice thus reducing the GP's funds. As this would seem believable as the pharmacy must be being paid by somebody, we arranged to get it done at the GP surgery instead without any problems.
I have no idea if this payment method is true or not - anyone else ever heard of it?

Adrian

AJC5001 wrote:

niord wrote:I got mine done at the chemist the other day, it's still done on the NHS free for qualifying people. My local surgery seem to be doing a mass vaccination today but I never received official notification which is unusual as they usually let me know,

When we missed the GP's mass vaccination week due to a holiday a couple of years ago, we considered going to the local pharmacy instead. It would be free of charge as qualifying pensioners, but we were told by friends that what happened behind the scenes was that the pharmacy claimed the 'fee' for providing the service from the local GP practice thus reducing the GP's funds. As this would seem believable as the pharmacy must be being paid by somebody, we arranged to get it done at the GP surgery instead without any problems.
I have no idea if this payment method is true or not - anyone else ever heard of it?

Adrian

The chemist certainly should tell the GP about vaccinations they give, my online records show my vaccinations that I have had at the chemists, but whether they claim from the GP for the cost or direct from the NHS I don't know. I was talking to someone the other day who was a practice manager for his local GP surgery, and he said that flu jabs were a good money spinner for the GP

The first year I got a letter. Then following year no letter and when I eventually queried it, I was assured that a letter had gone out. By now, I had discovered that there were two people with the same forename and surname registered to the practice so draw your own conclusions, especially as one or two other odditites occurred. As a result, I got the practice to put a note on our respective files.

Since then, it's been a mish-mash of me mainly seeing the notices and asking for it on one of my many visits to the surgery. On those occasions it's been a mixture of a GP did it once, health care assistants doing it on request, being passed onto another nurse for it, and last year done by my local Boots. This year, because I have to visit every 4th week for a blood test, it was done, on request and after checking my record, at the same time. So blood out, flu jab in, all on the same arm!!!

Last year when Boots did it, I was asked who my GP was, and was told that they, Boots, had to advise the surgery.

ten0rman

Local GP practice (NW London) contacted me some 2 weeks ago and had a booking system for the following week. Actual jab was at a local church hall - one way system in and out. All well organised.

T7

Our GP has invited me by text message and my wife by letter to attend at specific times for flu jabs. We have both rejected the invitation and have had a phone call to rearrange the appointments, as they do not seem to understand that "No thanks" means "No thanks".

The invitations arrived when we were away on holiday, the letter after the date of the appointment. The local pharmacy is also offering appointments.

We are not having them.

TJH

I used to get an invitation by letter every year then one year it stopped. I didn’t realise until I saw a poster on the waiting room wall advertising their ‘flu clinics’, which I’d missed by a few days. I mentioned it to the nurse and she explained they don’t send letters any more. She also explained that the flu clinic is not the only time to get one, I can make an appointment to come in - their special flu jab sessions are just to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

I normally get a text message inviting me to call for an appointment, but nothing so far this year. On the other hand Mrs S, who normally doesn't get offered one, had a letter asking her to call for an appointment and had the jab a week or so ago. I may have to give them a ring to see if they've forgotten me!

Hypster wrote:I used to get an invitation by letter every year then one year it stopped. I didn’t realise until I saw a poster on the waiting room wall advertising their ‘flu clinics’, which I’d missed by a few days. I mentioned it to the nurse and she explained they don’t send letters any more. She also explained that the flu clinic is not the only time to get one, I can make an appointment to come in - their special flu jab sessions are just to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

Thankfully the only time I go to my health centre is to get a flu jab once a year and so I invariably miss any posters but they are always perfectly happy to give me a jab via a nurse if I call them. This year my health centre are doing mass jabs on Saturday 10 October and the following Saturday but I need to call to get an appointment anyway. No just turning up as in past years.

Dod

No Notifications seems to order of the day now.

I rang my practice and have been able to make an exact time appt for the next over-65 clinic in 3 week,s time.

I suggest everyone does the same.

Thanks all for contributing and getting me sorted.

feder1 wrote:I rang my practice and have been able to make an exact time appt for the next over-65 clinic in 3 week,s time.

I suggest everyone does the same.

Prompted by this thread I rang my practice, last year I had received an invite letter around the beginning of September. Apparently they are still sending letters, but not all have gone out yet so mine might be 'in the post'. But I was also told I could ring back later in the week and book an appointment before I get a letter, which I will do.

feder1 wrote:No Notifications seems to order of the day now.

I rang my practice and have been able to make an exact time appt for the next over-65 clinic in 3 week,s time.

I suggest everyone does the same.

Each health authority seems to be doing it a different way. Our one asks you to make an appointment at the local GP surgery, while my parents' one, which is adjacent, is sending out unsolicited appointment letters for people to attend mass events at town halls etc.

Scott.

I had a letter inviting me to make an appointment and showing a series of dates for the “flu clinic” starting from 1st October.

After being held in a queue for a while, I got to speak to the receptionist and to my surprise was offered a vaccination appointment “in half an hour”.

Since the surgery is about halfway to some meadows, I grabbed my binoculars and toddled off, got the jab, went on to the meadows where I saw a grey Wagtail (3 times) a lesser Black Backed Gull among the usual Black Headed Gulls, a bunch of Canada Geese which don’t normally land there, a Green Woodpecker on a sports field (presumably eating ants) and several brief views of a Jay.

While not an impressive “bag”, that is the most I have seen over there since before the lockdown. So it was quite a good day.