'Scramble' to find vaccination centre
A ‘mad scramble’ is on to find a vaccination site in northeast Shropshire after suggested locations were rejected, according to councillors.
Market Drayton town councillors said they were deeply concerned that elderly and vulnerable residents were having to travel to Gobowen, Shrewsbury or Telford to receive their jabs.
But they were told that health bosses were looking at options including nearby cottage hospitals after ruling out a number of suggested sites.
Councillor David Minnery, who also represents Market Drayton West on Shropshire Council, said he and mayor Roy Aldcroft had met with public health officials to discuss alternative proposals.
Councillor Minnery said: “There has been some difficulty in locating some suitable premises in the Market Drayton area for Covid vaccinations.
“For some reason NHS England have taken it upon themselves to be the determining body here.
“One property which I can’t identify was put forward but they didn’t like it, so there’s a mad scramble going on to find something more suitable.
“The council is pushing as hard as it can to get a property or premises – or more than one – identified so that people don’t need to travel huge distances.
Mayor Roy Aldcroft, who also represents the town’s East ward on the unitary council, said the issue was that the NHS had a points system in place to determine the suitability of potential vaccine sites, and those put forward had not reached the required threshold.
Councillor Aldcroft added further hurdles were thrown up in the form of the equipment and setup required to supply, store and administer the jab, which is why existing hospitals are currently being preferred.
He said: “So you have got the supply problems, you have got the location problems and more and more you have got a staffing problem.
“They are absolutely desperate for volunteers to assist at vaccination centres. It takes something like 50 staff at each location to make it work over the 12 hour period that they are operating.”
Councillor Mark Whittle said the lack of public transport links could be forcing priority patients to turn down appointments.
He said: “Elderly people are being asked to travel not only to Oswestry orthopaedic and the RSH, but also to Telford.
“There is no public transport from this town to Telford – the buses have been stopped by Shropshire Council.
“There is no transport between here and Gobowen, it doesn’t exist.
“I think it needs to be raised at county level that we are a small town in the middle of nowhere and people can’t physically make it.”
Councillor Aldcroft said Shropshire Council’s public health team was aware of the difficulties people were facing in getting to the vaccine centres.
He said: “We were told that there is an intention to have stations probably 10 miles away, either end of Drayton, but we can’t say exactly where because it hasn’t been decided to confirm those yet.
“But they are trying desperately to get places a lot closer.”
Councillor Aldcroft added that people unable to attend the current vaccine centres did have the option to postpone their jabs until appointments are being offered locally.
