Vaccination Centres Unsafe.
Posted , 2 users are following.
I received my first vaccination today at a large centre. I was nervous about going to the centre and encountering a lot of people at close quarters. I entered the building wearing a brand new FFP3 respirator (N99) which I had bought purely for this visit. A staff member immediately asked me to remove my mask and replace it with one of theirs which was one of these (useless) blue surgical masks. I was somewhat stunned by this. Needless to say there was no way I was going to comply and I was quite prepared to go home if necessary. Eventually after some discussion a doctor was called and she said my mask was the best available and there was no problem. A second doctor then requested me to wear a blue surgical mask over mine. I did not object to this since I could see that his intention was to give the impression of uniformity. All proceeded well until I eventually got to the vaccination station. There were four or five staff sitting as close together as it was possible to be. There was also a seat for me right next to them where I was requested to sit while they prepared the vaccine. I declined and said I would prefer to maintain a 2 metre distance except when the vaccine was being given. The staff members didn't seem to understand why I was reluctant to sit near them! Thank goodness I had a decent mask on. I later complained to NHS Healthwatch and subsequently received a reply from the centre supervisor saying "I am very disappointed to hear of your experience. Only this morning I gave a briefing to all the staff regarding the importance of social distancing". He also said he would look into this further. From what I have seen on TV, my experience is far from unique. What on earth is wrong with people when even the medics at the nerve centre can't comply with the most basic regulations.
0 likes, 2 replies
laur66545 mike24933
Posted
hi mike
i dont usually reply however i am dissapointed that you had a negative experience. you should count your blessings rather than give those health care workers hard time its almost impossible for us to obey by the social distances rules. we are busy saving lives, being asked to change into a surgical mask is not difficult. i hope this message does not come across rude but you have no idea what the nhs is going through have some respect
mike24933 laur66545
Posted
Hi laur
Thanks for your reply. I can understand your irritation at someone who appears to criticize the nhs. I have the greatest respect for what the nhs are doing and I know that many of the staff are working past breaking point. I don't think my criticism of the vaccination centre impacts on that at all. In the specific instances where people were not complying with social distancing guidelines it would have been very easy to have complied. Most staff in the centre were behaving appropriately. It is totally unacceptable that a few should not be. The whole purpose of the center's operation is to save lives. This is negated by the negligent attitude of a few people who appear to think that the rules don't apply to them. I do count my blessings that vaccines are available. I don't feel blessed that there are people at the centre who by their negligent attitude will by passing this disease on to others. I actually received a reply via Healthwatch from the centre thanking me for my comment and expressing disappointment that some staff were still ignoring his daily instruction.