COVID-19 For the latest NHS advice and guidance please visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Providing NHS services
Providing NHS services
We have received an overwheming number of comments and messages from patients following our first wave of Covid-19 Vaccinations. Most of which have offered a great amount of support and encouragement to the practice and our staff, for which we are most grateful.
We have shared some of the kind words that have been sent to us below.
'We want to thank you for the brilliant experience yesterday. The wait seemed immaterial compared with the undertaking and all the staff involved were wonderful. We were proud to be part of it. Very best wishes to you all'
'I cannot speak highly enough of how it was all handled, all very comfortable and the staff were so kind. Just thanks, thanks, thanks to everyone, it is so much appreciated'
'Yesterday my wife and I received our Covid-19 vaccinations in rather difficult circumstances. We want to thank you for the way in which you coped. You all did your utmost to reduce the impact of those circumstances for our benefit. At no time did we hear your stress or frustration communicated to the patients and at all times you all remained cheerful. Thank you again.'
'We are so grateful that have had our vaccine, we thought everything was very well organised. A big thank you to all, we know how busy you are but you always seem to answer with a smile'
'I had my first vaccine injection on Friday at River Lodge surgery. I would like to thank you for the speed of the date given, the very efficient way it was carried out and the friendly and courteous way that I was treated by all the staff, it was most appreciated.'
'We compliment you and your peers who have been instrumental in getting the Covid injections off the ground in this area. We have an appreciation of the mountain that had to be climbed to get the project up and running and the fact that it has been so successful is an absolute credit to every individual involved - especially those at the sharp end. Thank you for a job thoroughly well done.'
'I would just like to say thank you to all your staff for all they are doing rolling out the covid vaccines. I have just returned from my father having his Covid jab at River Lodge this morning and I was impressed at how efficient the set up was - in and out in 20 minutes!!'
'On Friday (8 January) I went for my first Covid vaccination at River Lodge. It was a bitterly cold day, but I was warmly clad. There was, of course, a degree of waiting, but nothing excessive, and it all went pretty smoothly.
My overriding feeling at the end was of admiration. The number of staff (and possibly volunteers?) shepherding us around, was so impressive, many of whom were out in the cold, and must have been chilled to the bone, no matter how many mugs of tea they drank. They all stayed cheerful throughout, even though by 4.00 they had probably been at it for some time. Then in the marquee at the end, for the 15 minute wait before leaving, were two talented musicians, playing and singing, thus creating a most cheerful atmosphere. Great stuff!
So, may I ask you to pass my congratulations and deep thanks to Everyone involved. Many people are only too ready to complain when things do not go as smoothly as they would wish, so it is right to give praise when they are done properly. Well done all of you!'
What a shock. I went for my “follow up” on Friday. To my amazement I was in and out in less than half an hour.
All the staff (and there were many) were polite, chatty and perfectly organised.
'We were beautifully we treated. You were all so kind, and so nice. I can't praise you enough. Thank you very much'
'Congratulations on the huge logistic exercise involved in vaccinating so many patients so quickly, was surprised how cheerful staff remained after such gruelling days. Many thanks!'
My mum has asked me to send this on her behalf to thank everyone who was part of the COVID vaccination team on Saturday 16th Jan.
My mum came to River Lodge for her vaccination and was so impressed by everything and everyone. The whole process was so well organised and everyone was fantastic - from the volunteers standing in the rain, to the staff giving the vaccinations. She was particularly impressed that everyone was so friendly and cheery and that nothing was any trouble. She has said she can't describe how good everyone was.
My mum says the experience has completely changed how she feels about the nationwide vaccination programme. Before this, she had her doubts whether it could be achieved, but she now feels, if other people get the service she did, that it can be.
We were most impressed with the organisation of the clinic on Saturday; the efficiency and care for patients with which it all worked. Also for the good humour in what were very challenging circumstances. My beloved other half is a very with it, but anxious 92 year old when it come to jabs, but he felt really well cared for and is extremely grateful to everyone for making the experience as welcoming as possible.
Congratulations to everyone - you should all be proud of yourselves!
Covid-19 Vaccination – Patient Feedback
Our first wave of vaccination did not come without issues. Problems that arose were quickly identified, reviewed, and measures were put in place.
We feel it is important to share the feedback we had below and the response we gave in return, in hope that it alleviates any concerns had by our patient community.
‘Attn Dr Annis,
Yet again I am unable to access the internal mail system. I wanted you and your fellow partners to be aware of the complete chaos of the initial day of vaccine at the Phoenix Centre.
When I arrived for a 1pm appointment there was a line of 80 odd people waiting. Not all were patients as most had their carers with them. It was supposed to be for 80 year olds.
After waiting for 30 minutes I moved up three places in the line. The lady next to me went to her car and left her carer in the line. The lady behind was in considerable discomfort with a bad knee. To leave all these 80 year olds in this situation was a total disgrace.
My neighbour is the boss of Mirador TV and I thought of calling him to record the situation. However after speaking to the only Foundry member present ( a young lady) I decided not to and rebooked my appointment.
I would appreciate your comments.’
‘Dear Mr E,
Thank you for your email to Dr Annis regarding our first mass Covid-19 vaccination clinic at Foundry Healthcare last week.
We were very pleased to be one of only three sites in East Sussex to offer the vaccination to our vulnerable patients. However it was a huge undertaking and we were given just one week’s notice of the day when the vaccine would be delivered. We had no control over the delivery date.
As you will be aware the vaccine is very new and is currently rather impractical to administer. It takes two staff approximately 15-20 minutes to prepare 5 doses of it. Once delivered to the surgery it has a very short shelf life and so we had to administer 975 doses in just three days.
We had just a few days to phone 900 patients aged 80 years and over to offer them the vaccine and our team of receptionists worked tirelessly over the weekend, at very sort notice, to achieve this.
Each of those patients who attended the clinic had to be seen by a clinician and carefully assessed to ensure they were suitable to receive the vaccine and then booked in onto our computer system.
Patients were then required to wait for 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine, in a safely distanced area. Many had their carers with them, which of course added to the number of people waiting.
At this point we were not able to offer carers the vaccination.
Conscious of the needs of our elderly population, who would be attending the surgery on these three days, we rather ambitiously hoped to do all of this before it became dark. However on the first day, the day when you attended, it became clear that the process was taking longer than anticipated and unfortunately patients did have considerable delays. This was particularly unfortunate as in order to keep everyone safely distanced people had to wait outside of the building.
When we were made aware that the vaccine was available a couple of weeks earlier, we approached The Phoenix Centre to ask for use of their facility so that patients did not have to be outside but they were unable to help us. We hope they will review this decision for patients coming in January for their second vaccination.
All of these factors contributed to an unacceptable delay, and our staff, who had all worked so very hard all week and into the weekend, were very disappointed that their plans had not quite come to fruition.
However, despite a long and tiring day, the Manager, Doctors and Nurses stayed working very late Wednesday evening to refine the process and the following morning a team of receptionists called patients booked for the next two days to move some of their appointments to later in the day and at 6am on Thursday morning a second marquee was erected.
We are very pleased that during the next two days, we undertook more vaccines and finished much earlier on those days and patients experienced very little delay.
We have received so many ‘Thank yous’ from patients who are very grateful that we were able to provide the vaccine locally, rather than having to wait to attend a mass vaccination site in Brighton.
We are just so very sorry your experience on the first day was not as good. It was definitely a learning experience for us and we did everything we could to improve the experience for future clinics.’
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