Briggs: Ministers out of touch on NHS Lothian vaccination rollout

Local vaccination figures show that 80,066 people have been vaccinated in NHS Lothian, equivalent to 10.6% of the population over the age of 16.

Last week NHS Lothian said the Scottish Government vaccination figures were invalid, because they did not include vaccinations that had happened at GP practices in NHS Lothian.

At the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday Health Secretary Jeane Freeman admitted that “we do need to vaccinate faster in Scotland than we have been doing.”

Scotland is lagging behind the rest of the UK in the number of people vaccinated so far, with SNP Ministers rearranging their target for all over 70s to receive a letter to be vaccinated by the end of last week, to end of this week.

The delivery of vaccines to GP practices has been highlighted as a crucial area where the delivery of the vaccines is being held up, with GP practices limited to 100 vaccines doses a week.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “It is worrying that SNP Ministers are lagging behind other parts of the United Kingdom in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

“An efficient vaccination rollout is vital for protecting elderly and at risk people from Covid-19, but also so that our schools can fully reopen and businesses get going again.

“Every day that the vaccinations rollout is delayed is another day where pupils aren’t able to get back to school and businesses won’t be making any income.

“In NHS Lothian it is not clear whether GP practice vaccination numbers have been included in the total, and it is very concerning that SNP Ministers don’t know how many people have been vaccinated.”

https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/covid-19-statistical-report/

The Conservative Lothians list MSP also expressed concern over Accident and Emergency waiting times figures released on Tuesday.

They revealed that 83.4% of patients were seen within the 4 hour waiting time target at A&E departments in Lothian, for the December 2020, the latest figures available.

The figure seen within 4 hours is comparable to December 2019, when 80.4% of patients were seen within the 4 hour standard in NHS Lothian, despite attendance dropping from 23,724 to 16,916.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine warned that staff had been working relentlessly for 11 months and “Studies have shown many have face psychological distress, stress and even PTSD as a result of the pandemic.

Lothian MSP has called on SNP Ministers to step up their efforts to support NHS Lothian frontline staff, and said they that SNP Ministers have not done enough, despite unprecedented funding from the UK government to overcome Covid-19.  

Mr Briggs said that members of the public also have a role to play in alleviating pressure on NHS services.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “NHS Lothian frontline staff have been working flat out to overcome Covid-19 for almost a year and we must all do everything we can to alleviate pressure on them as the Covid-19 vaccines is rolled out.

“It is important that people still go to A&E if they have an emergency, and not be put off by Covid-19, but people must make an appointment with their GP if they have a condition which doesn’t need immediate medical attention.”

“SNP Ministers have not done enough to support NHS Lothian frontline staff, despite record funding from the UK Government, with waiting times growing for A&E despite fewer people attending.

“Keeping socially distanced and following Covid-19 rules is crucial for a bit longer, as the vaccines is rolled out, so that our NHS doesn’t get overwhelmed.”

NHS Lothian attendance and waiting time figures:

https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/health-services/hospital-care/ae-activity-and-waiting-times/  (in data tables)

NHS Lothian

Episode and aggregate level data	Apr-2020	May-2020	Jun-2020	Jul-2020	Aug-2020	Sep-2020	Oct-2020	Nov-2020	Dec-2020
Number of attendances	12,030	16,150	17,737	18,984	21,136	20,470	19,328	17,776	16,916
Total attendances for year to month	271,907	263,517	257,058	251,908	247,864	243,117	237,364	230,625	223,817
Rolling average attendance	22,659	21,960	21,422	20,992	20,655	20,260	19,780	19,219	18,651
Over 4 hours in A&E	549	723	915	990	1,685	2,088	2,039	2,155	2,810
% within 4 hours (month)	95.4%	95.5%	94.8%	94.8%	92.0%	89.8%	89.5%	87.9%	83.4%
% within 4 hours (rolling annual)	86.6%	87.0%	87.4%	87.5%	87.6%	87.7%	87.9%	88.6%	89.1%
Episode level data only
Number of attendances	11,980	16,073	17,601	18,911	20,999	20,411	19,262	17,696	16,851
Over 8 hours in A&E	24	24	50	57	92	202	231	219	481
% within 8 hours (month)	99.8%	99.9%	99.7%	99.7%	99.6%	99.0%	98.8%	98.8%	97.1%
Over 12 hours in A&E	1	3	3	3	10	39	26	37	124
% within 12 hours (month)	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	99.8%	99.9%	99.8%	99.3%
Episode and aggregate level data	Apr-2019	May-2019	Jun-2019	Jul-2019	Aug-2019	Sep-2019	Oct-2019	Nov-2019	Dec-2019	Jan-2020	Feb-2020	Mar-2020
Number of attendances	23,831	24,540	24,196	24,134	25,180	25,217	25,081	24,515	23,724	23,617	21,909	17,764
Total attendances for year to month	282,525	282,583	283,569	284,742	285,857	287,956	289,785	290,805	290,817	290,699	290,349	283,708
Rolling average attendance	23,544	23,549	23,631	23,729	23,821	23,996	24,149	24,234	24,235	24,225	24,196	23,642
Over 4 hours in A&E	2,968	2,829	2,791	1,912	2,441	2,942	3,398	4,561	4,658	4,103	3,902	2,390
% within 4 hours (month)	87.5%	88.5%	88.5%	92.1%	90.3%	88.3%	86.5%	81.4%	80.4%	82.6%	82.2%	86.5%
% within 4 hours (rolling annual)

…

NOTE

The highest number of vaccinations in one day was recorded on Wednesday: 45,085 people had a jab, taking the total of those who have had a first injection to 694,347.