Daughter pens letter to PM over delays in 96-year-old mum having Covid jab
A woman has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson over delays around her 96-year-old mother getting the Covid-19 vaccine – which she has now received.
Concerns have been raised that the housebound elderly are slipping through the net in the jab rollout – and June Upton had such difficulty in getting a slot for her mother, Edna Wood.
She penned emails to the PM and Health Secretary Matt Hancock and her mother finally had her first dose of the vaccine yesterday.
Speaking before her mother received the jab, June, from Shrewsbury, said: “As recently as Monday the government said everyone over 70 should have had their vaccination and if they hadn’t had it they should phone up.
“I’ve been trying to get her sorted but we’re not getting anywhere. I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall.
“She’s in a care complex in Donnington. I’ve been ringing the doctor’s surgery and they just say that she has to wait because she requires a home visit.
“Waiting is no good if she gets the virus in the meantime and she dies. I’ve been trying for weeks.”
She added: “I’ve sent emails to Boris and Matt Hancock just trying to get answers. I’ve rang the doctors I don’t know how many times. Nobody wants to take responsibility. When I ring 119 they ask ‘are you sure she’s not had it? She’s not on the list’. Then they tell me to ring the doctors. I want answers.”
Dr Stefan Waldendorf, clinical director of Newport and Central Telford Primary Care Network (PCN), said: “In Newport and Central Telford PCN the vaccination rollout has got off to a really strong start at the local vaccination centre at Audley Court (veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress).
“We have been busy vaccinating the top four priority groups and, from February 11, has included housebound patients who are eligible as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) who are registered at Donnington Medical Practice, Shawbirch Medical Centre, Linden Hall Surgery and Wellington Road Surgery.”
