'I've absolutely got steam coming out of my ears' – Caithness man hits out at NHS Highland vaccine hub gremlins
A Caithness man said he was so frustrated he had steam coming out of his ears after making two failed attempts to get through to NHS Highland's vaccination hub.
Robert MacDonald spoke out after being disconnected both times, having waited in a queue of callers as he tried to book a Covid-19 booster jab.
He took issue with recent assurances given by the health board that technical problems with the phone system had been fixed, saying: "The gremlins are no better now than they were.”
A number of people have reported similar problems in contacting the Inverness number to book their Covid and flu jabs.
NHS Highland said a week ago that its hub had been affected by a software malfunction which had since been resolved. This week the board acknowledged the difficulties many people in Caithness have had and reiterated that it had fixed the issues with its phone line.
It has also moved more people onto the team to help answer calls.
Mr MacDonald, a patient of the Riverview practice in Wick, called the hub on Thursday (October 28) to try to arrange a Covid booster jab at one of the clinics being run by NHS Highland in the town's Assembly Rooms from next week.
“I've absolutely got steam coming out of my ears," he said. "You keep ringing up, you almost get answered and then you get disconnected.
“The waits are a lot less. They must have more people answering phones, because I'm not experiencing an hour or an hour-and-a-half, but it's so frustrating. You think, 'Right, another minute and I'll be answered,' and then you are cut off.
“I rang up at 12 o'clock and I was told I was number 58 in the queue. It was coming down sometimes about four, so you'd get a message saying you were now number 54 in the queue.
“I held on for over 10 minutes and I'd reached number eight in the queue. After it told me I'd reached number eight, on came another message saying, 'Sorry, we are experiencing a large volume of calls, ring back later.' Then it disconnected.
“At two o'clock I rang back and I was told I was number 54 in the queue. Again it was coming down about four every time that you got a message, which was roughly every 45 seconds or so.
“This time I reached number four in the queue and got this message saying, 'We are experiencing a large volume of calls, ring back later.'
“I wouldn't have minded if the message to begin with was 'there are a lot of calls, ring back later' – that's fine. But they hold on and then, just when you're about to be answered, they cut you off."
Mr MacDonald, a professional photographer who lives at Stirkoke, near Wick, reckoned his first call lasted about 12 minutes and the second one around eight minutes.
“Okay, it's not an hour or an hour-and-a-half which folk were experiencing last week, but it's still so frustrating when you're only four away from being answered," he said.
"If the message told you at the beginning that the line was busy and to call back later, that's fine. It's just the fact that they keep you holding on and you're thinking, 'Oh good, another minute or two minutes and that'll be it,' and then you get a message telling you that you're being disconnected.
"That's the frustration – not that the lines are busy, which I can understand, but that the system doesn't just immediately tell you the lines are busy. It lets you go from the high fifties down to being almost answered and then disconnects you."
Earlier this week the director of public health, Dr Tim Allison, said the NHS Highland vaccine programme "has been a great success", adding: “Please be assured we are working to vaccinate you as quickly as we can but we would ask for everyone’s patience as we work through our plans.”
Mr MacDonald said: "Dr Allison is saying the gremlins have been fixed and everything is working smoothly. I hope he's a better doctor than he is a computer person, because the gremlins are no better now than they were.”
He added: "They've got everybody's phone numbers. I can't see why they couldn't just have sat in Inverness ringing the patients. That's what happened the first time – Riverview rang me and said, 'Look, we'll give you this appointment.'
"I can't see why Inverness couldn't be doing the same thing, just ringing all the patients from the different practices.
"It stood to reason they were going to be inundated with calls when folk have to ring them as opposed to them contacting the patients. It just seems badly thought out by NHS Highland."
Social media users also found fault with the booking system. On the John O'Groat Journal's Facebook page, Lana Green wrote: “Still can't get through, been trying all day.” Peter Todd urged NHS managers to “sort your phone lines out”, while Eilidh Johnston asked: "Sorted the phone lines? What’s their next joke?”
In another post, Susan Sutherland wrote: “Why do we need to phone when other surgeries manage to phone their patients? And to expect people to travel to Inverness to get vaccinated is yet again proving centralisation is ridiculous. Especially on these roads."
A spokesperson for NHS Highland said on Friday: "We are very sorry for the challenges some people are having in getting through to our vaccination hub and for the frustration and anxiety that this will have caused.
"We are taking steps to urgently review and improve our telephone line, recognising the high volume of calls received and some of the challenges people have had using it. This will include bringing in extra members of staff to respond to the demand.
"Going forward, the majority of patients will be invited by letter to attend the clinics which we expect to result in a smoother process for all involved."
In Caithness, NHS Highland is delivering flu and Covid vaccination clinics for patients of the Riverbank, Dunbeath, Lybster and Riverview practices. The health board says eligible patients with these practices will either be invited by letter or asked to call the vaccination hub.
Other Caithness practices are running their own clinics and they will get in touch with their patients directly.
Clinics for Riverbank patients will be held in Thurso on November 1, 2, 8 and 9. Clinics for Riverview patients will be held in Wick on November 4, 5, 11 and 12. These clinics are appointment only.
Patients who would like to attend the clinics in Thurso on November 1 and 2 are asked to phone the vaccination hub on 01463 705531. Patients wishing to attend clinics on the other dates will be contacted by letter.
For patients registered with the Dunbeath practice, a drop-in clinic is scheduled for October 30, from 11am to 6pm, at Dunbeath community hall.
Patients registered with Lybster practice can attend a drop-in clinic on November 6, from 10am to 4pm, at Lybster Community Hall. Dunbeath patients may also attend this clinic.
NHS Highland has said it will assess the demand and, if required, add more clinics.
