Former Worksop man gets vaccine while his 95-year-old mum still waits
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Keith Middleton, 74, described it as ‘ironic’ that he would be receiving the virus vaccine before his mother Margaret, adding ‘how many other people in their 90s still haven’t had it?’
Father-of-two Keith told how the first contact he had with his mother's GP service - Creswell Medical Centre - was on Sunday.
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However during the phone call there was no offer of a vaccination as a member of staff explained the conversation was simply routine to let the family know Margaret was ‘on the list’.
Bemused Keith said: “The woman we spoke to was very nice but it told us nothing new - we’re all on the list, we know that.
“The first woman to be vaccinated was a 91-year-old woman in Coventry on December 8 and here we are weeks later with no development for my mum.
“Now they’re moving onto people aged 75 and over but how many other people in their 90s still haven’t had it?”
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Former civil servant Keith described how a member of staff at Creswell Medical Centre had told him the vaccine delay was due to a supply problem and that the area was ‘behind the rest of the country’.
Keith said he and the rest of his family were ‘extremely worried’ about his mother Margaret.
Mum-of-four Margaret, who drove cranes at a Sheffield steelworks during the WW2 effort, currently lives in supported housing and suffers from dementia.
He said: “She doesn't get out at all and is very vulnerable but we take comfort knowing she’s not fully-aware of the seriousness of the situation.
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“I just feel there must be a lot other people out there who are being let down by the system and I’m just hoping by speaking out it will prompt someone to do something.”
Reacting to Keith’s comments, a spokesperson from Joined Up Care Derbyshire said: “We understand that staff working from Creswell Medical Centre are this week carrying out planned vaccinations of patients who are unable to attend appointments at a vaccination site.
"We cannot address the circumstances of individual patients but there are particular challenges of reaching vulnerable people who cannot attend on-site clinics in person.
“Our vaccination teams across the county are working hard to reach thousands of patients – this includes travelling to care homes and in many cases visiting housebound people in their own homes.
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“The rollout of the vaccination programme at national and local level is phased - with local vaccination sites opening in a planned sequence.
"This means some sites have had more time to reach vulnerable patients in their area.
"The vaccination site at Springs Health Centre in Clowne has been carrying out vaccinations since January 15.
"Overall, Derbyshire compares very favourably locally, regionally and nationally on vaccinations and we continue to build capacity to vaccinate more people, more quickly subject to vaccine supply and availability.”