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The Scottish Government has confirmed it has launched an investigating into delays to Covid vaccine letters, which affected Edinburgh residents.
Edinburgh Live revealed last week that letters inviting people in priority group 7 to get their Covid jab in Edinburgh are ‘missing’ – raising concerns about the management of the vaccination booking system.
Several people, aged 60-64, told Edinburgh Live how they had called the vaccine helpline after not receiving a letter, only to find they were already booked in for their virus vaccination.
One woman explained she had become aware of the issues due to social media reports which prompted her to investigate and urged the government to tell people to call, with another local reporting a similar experience.
Local MSP Miles Briggs, who wrote to the Health Secretary over the issues, described the error as “concerning” amid reports that Edinburgh and the Lothian’s are behind other health boards in the rollout of Covid-19.
He said” “It is vital that everyone who is due their vaccination gets one and if someone who thinks they should be due a vaccine has not heard from NHS Lothian, please call the helpline to get one arranged.
“People in Edinburgh and the Lothian’s are getting mixed messages from the First Minister and their GPs on when they will receive their vaccinations and this must be clarified immediately.
An inside source also told Edinburgh Live the helpline had received an influx of calls with people missing their letters.
At the time, NHS Lothian said the issuing of vaccine letters was for the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland.
The Scottish Government has now confirmed they have launched a probe into the “delays to appointment letters” and have apologised to those affected.
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A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is investigating with NHS National Services Scotland and Royal Mail to understand why there have been delays to appointment letters being received by people aged 60-64 in the NHS Lothian region.
“We would like to apologise to anyone who has missed their appointment as a result and for the inconvenience this may have caused them. We have been clear with the board that we expect anyone who has been affected by this issue to be rebooked swiftly.
“We are also working with the national vaccination helpline so that people within the NHS Lothian area can get through to speak to someone to help them get their vaccination, if they were affected by this delay.”
The Scottish Government advised that for those who missed an appointment that was scheduled for Monday 15 March, a new appointment will automatically be generated and sent out next week.
Anyone else, between 60-64, who missed an appointment scheduled for any other date is told to rearrange online using the instruction on their vaccination invite or contact the helpline on 0800 030 8013.
It comes after it emerged Edinburgh’s coronavirus vaccination rate has shown to be the lowest in Scotland, according to the latest figures.
Data published by Public Health Scotland has stated that 30.4 per cent of those in the city have had their first dose of the vaccine, which is currently behind other council areas.
In Glasgow, the figure is 32.4 per cent and in Dundee it is 42.1 per cent.
