Concern over lack of vaccination centre in Saddleworth

Alan Thomas was the first person over 80 in the borough to have the vaccination, with Dr Hunjan administering his vaccine.

Almost 25 per cent of Oldham’s over 80’s population have received their first doses of the Coronavirus vaccine, say health experts.

The news comes after worried elderly Saddleworth folk expressed concerns over travelling into Oldham to be vaccinated because there were no local facilities.

One over 80 resident claimed he waited more than 40 minutes in pouring rain to receive the vaccine at the Glodwick Primary Care Centre. And another said: “There should be a vaccination centre set up in Saddleworth. It’s appalling there are no facilities in the villages.”

A spokesperson from NHS Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused to patients who had waits outside because of the locations we are required to use at this stage.

“The numbers being vaccinated, and the need for appropriate social distancing measures mean we are working with local partners to do what we can to improve this experience.
 
“We are currently in the opening phases of what will be the biggest vaccination programme the NHS has ever seen and working hard to ensure the most vulnerable people in our communities are vaccinated as soon as possible.”

In the first stages of the vaccination programme, vaccine is delivered to a number of clinical sites in the borough where specialist refrigeration equipment enables it to be stored at the appropriate temperatures.

Local primary care networks – groups of practices covering the whole of the area commissioned by the NHS to vaccinate local communities - coordinate deliveries to assigned delivery points, where, once received all doses must be used within three consecutive days.

Primary Care Networks in Oldham have given vaccines to registered patients in the North, West and Central-South areas of the borough from their nominated sites, with the South, Central-North and East areas starting over the next few weeks.

The CCG are examining possibilities in the future that may allow more vaccine clinics closer to people’s homes across the area.

They are contacting eligible patients who have not yet been vaccinated for an appointment over the coming weeks as new sites come on board across the area.

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