THE family of a housebound grandmother say they are “getting nowhere” trying to find out when she will get her Covid vaccination.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland remains “firmly on track” to inoculate all over-70s by the end of Sunday, but some elderly people have yet to receive appointments.
Kathleen McDaid, 89, from Glasgow is among the over-80s living in the community who has not yet been offered the jag.
Her daughter, Mary Ferry, said her mother had initially been told by her GP that he would visit her at home in January.
After he failed to turn up, however, the surgery said they had run out of vaccine and it would be up to district nurses to carry out Mrs McDaid’s immunisation instead.
Several weeks on, there has been no word of an appointment.
Ms Ferry, a 61-year-old dental nurse who has already had her vaccination and been given an appointment for her second dose, cannot understand why her mother is still waiting.
She said: “I’ve phoned umpteen helplines and I’m getting nowhere. They just pass the buck.
“There was a helpline that said if you’re over 70 and you still haven’t had it, contact this number, but all they could tell us was ‘no, she still hasn’t had a letter’.
“She’s 89 and she’s getting really stressed. It’s affecting her mental health and I do feel that the GP surgery has a duty of care to her.
“I even said to the GP I could bring her in, but they said there was no vaccine left. It’s just so frustrating.
“I keep continually phoning and phoning, but I’m just getting nowhere.”
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the family has now been contacted, after Mrs McDaid's case was flagged by the Herald.
He said: "During this time our housebound teams are working hard to get to all remaining eligible patients within the community vaccinated.
"We would like to apologise to Mrs McDaid and we can confirm we are looking into her particular case to ensure our local HSCP [Health and Social Care Partnership] team is able to vaccinate her as soon as possible.
"Someone has been in touch with her family today to help arrange for an appropriate time.
"Any other housebound patients and over the age of 80 who are still waiting for an appointment and haven’t already done so, should contact their local GP who should pass their information onto the local HSCP to arrange for a visit.
"They can also contact the vaccine helpline on 0800 030 8013 and will be advised appropriately."
In Hamilton, Lanarkshire, the family of 79-year-old Mary Howie are delighted that the pensioner finally received her appointment letter yesterday - although she will next be vaccinated until next Wednesday.
Mrs Howie, who has heart and lung conditions, has been shielding since last March but was left bewildered by the lack of news about her vaccination.
Her husband, who is the same age, was vaccinated nearly two weeks ago, but her daughter Susan Howie says the family were left feeling like they were “hitting our heads against a brick” every time they tried calling helplines, including the national Covid hotline.
At one point, her mother received a text from NHS Lanarkshire saying that her appointment was scheduled - but when her daughter ten called the telephone number in the text for details, she was told the texts had been “sent out in error”.
READ MORE: Deaths in care homes falling faster than in general population
Ms Howie said: “It’s been a long year for her. When the vaccinations started we thought it’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but then there was nothing.”
A spokeswoman for NHS Lanarkshire said: “Letters are still being sent out by the national system, however the weather may be causing delays in them getting to people.”
It comes after other family members spoke to the Herald this week of feeling shunted “from pillar to post” chasing appointments for elderly relatives in their 90s or even 100s.
Several have taken to social media in the past 48 hours to complain, with one man tweeting that his housebound 89-year-old father with end stage COPD has yet to receive the vaccine.
He added: “Mum contacted GP several times but they say they have nothing to do with vaccination program. He’s had a text saying he’d have vaccine by last week. What should we do now?”
Another said his “82 year old housebound mother” is still waiting on a vaccination, while another Twitter user said their “94 year old grandfather who’s housebound hasn’t received his first vaccine and [it’s] falling on deaf years in Renfrewshire”.
One woman added: “My mother in law 75, still waiting too. Helpline have been unable to offer any sort of advice as to why. No appointment scheduled and no one can give me answers.”
READ MORE: Vaccine delay for working age Scots with health conditions amid dip in Pfizer supply
Nicola Sturgeon said people with elderly relatives still waiting for their jags can email her on firstminister.gov.scot “as a last resort”, if they’ve failed to get answers from their GP, NHS or the Covid helplines.
However, she said there had been a “heroic” effort on vaccinations this week, with record number immunised on Wednesday.
She said: “We’ve seen not a slowing down but an acceleration.
“So I’m confident we’re on a track to meet that target. Yes in any target there may be people for a variety of reasons who are still to be done.
“In a massive programme you’re going to get that, but we’ve been working really hard to minimise that.”
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