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GP’s offices are forced to cancel appointments for the winter flu vaccine after the NHS ‘largest supplier warned it could not deliver supplies for up to two weeks due to “challenges unforeseen road freight “.
Practices in England started contacting patients to postpone their vaccination without being able to reschedule them to a later date. The problem emerged on Friday when vaccine maker Seqirus wrote to surgeries alerting them to the possibility of having to rearrange booked appointments.
“We would like to inform you that due to unforeseen road freight issues, your scheduled delivery will be delayed by one to two weeks,” the company said.
“We realize this unfortunate change may require you to postpone scheduled flu clinics and would like to reassure you that we are working hard to allow you to plan with certainty. “
He added: “Please do not book clinics until you have received [a] delivery note from us [a week before planned delivery]. “
The letter did not explain whether the delays were related to the persistent shortage of truck drivers which has led supermarkets to run out of certain products and fast food stores to close because they are unable to serve signature dishes.
It’s unclear how much of a disruption the company’s inability to provide vaccines to GP practices will have on the NHS flu vaccination campaign, which is expected to be the largest yet, with more groups than never eligible for a free vaccine.
NHS ministers and bosses want as many people as possible to have their shot, to help protect the NHS at a time when Covid is likely to reappear again.
GP Heaton Mersey’s office in Stockport on Friday began canceling appointments for patients to come for their flu shots.
Shortly after receiving the information from Seqirus, he sent a message to the affected patients saying, “Appointment for flu shot canceled!” We have just been informed that all influenza deliveries across the UK will be delayed, with no firm date by which we can expect delivery.
“We must therefore cancel your appointment until we receive confirmation of a new delivery date.”
It is not known whether Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland are affected as well as England.
The British Medical Association has warned that the delay in delivery will have a major impact. This comes on top of a severe shortage of blood sample vials, which last week led NHS England to order general practitioners and hospitals to drastically reduce the number of blood tests they perform, which has forced doctors to ration patients who have their blood drawn.
“This problem is likely to affect a significant proportion of practices and have a serious impact on the workload of the practice and, above all, on the patients,” said Dr Richard Vautrey, President of the BMA GPS Committee.
“Many practices will have spent the last few days and weeks meticulously planning their flu vaccination schedule, inviting and reserving patients for their vaccines, only to now have to contact them all again to cancel or reschedule appointments. “
The company, which is headquartered in Berkshire, describes itself as “the largest supplier of seasonal influenza vaccines in the UK and a major global supplier”. It recently opened a new influenza vaccine manufacturing plant in Liverpool to deliver 30 million doses to the UK.
The cancellations would cause “unnecessary anxiety for patients who will want to be protected before winter,” Vautrey added.
Dr Gary Howsam, Vice President of the Royal College of GPs, said: “This is news we really didn’t want to hear. With more than 36 million people eligible for the flu shot on the NHS this year, GPs need the supply chain to run like clockwork.
“It is essential that as many people as possible in at-risk groups get vaccinated as early as possible in the flu season. A delay of a few weeks will have a significant impact on practices and their patients. “
Ministers have yet to decide whether the launch of this year’s flu vaccine will also be used to administer booster vaccines against Covid vulnerable groups. Experts have warned that there could be up to 50% more flu this winter than usual.
A spokesperson for Seqirus said: “We couldn’t anticipate some of the transportation challenges. These then resulted in a delay of one to two weeks in vaccines for our customers. We are working hard to resolve this issue.
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Sources 2/ https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/03/gp-surgeries-in-england-cancel-flu-jabs-amid-shortage-of-vaccine The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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