Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

NHS Fife defend Covid vaccine rollout after canteen and IT staff leapfrog frontline workers

Nurses prepare the Covid-19 vaccine.
Nurses prepare the Covid-19 vaccine.

Health chiefs in Fife have defended their rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine amid claims canteen and IT staff have been given the jab ahead of frontline workers.

The Courier understands primary care staff in the region have reacted with fury after learning a number of non-clinical facing employees have already been vaccinated – less than 48 hours after the first shot was administered on Tuesday.

NHS Fife maintains its prioritisation system is based on “protecting those at most risk”, but one member of GP staff, who did not wish to be named, accused the health board of showing a “total disregard” for the primary care sector.

The news comes just days after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said vaccination of priority groups would cover 99% of preventable Covid-19 deaths, while many frontline workers across Scotland have expressed frustration at being unable to book an appointment.

The health care worker who contacted The Courier said: “This is a total disregard for primary care as usual.

“There are no current plans for GP staff to get the vaccine, yet we’re supposed to start vaccinating people next month and we’re currently seeing more patients than ever.

“I’m not sure why people serving baked potatoes in a canteen or fixing a PC are prioritised ahead of primary care staff.”

National guidance on issuing the Covid-19 vaccine is based on independent advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which recommends prioritising those with the greatest clinical need – including those aged over 80, and health and social care workers.

All health boards are said to be experiencing exceptionally high demand from staff trying to secure an appointment, with those giving the vaccination to others expected to receive the injection first.

NHS Lothian, for example, has apologised to staff after a number of employees struggled to get through on a new dedicated appointment booking line, and there are anecdotal reports that situation has been replicated across Scotland.

However, NHS Fife said it “continues to develop its booking processes” and will pilot a new appointment booking system for staff in the coming days.

On the issue of prioritisation, Scott Garden, director of pharmacy and medicines at NHS Fife, noted: “NHS Fife has adopted national guidance during this first phase of the vaccination to prioritise frontline health and social care workers recognising the phased supply of vaccine.

“Both nationally and locally, the guiding principle for deciding on prioritisation is protecting those at most risk.

“In practice this means that health and social care staff being invited for their first dose vaccination in December are all clinical and support staff working in areas with highly vulnerable inpatient groups and those who work with patients on the Covid positive patient pathway.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie has already raised questions about how the vaccine will be rolled out in Fife in light of problems with the flu vaccination programme earlier this year.

He is hoping lessons have been learned from that process.

“We need to have confidence that the nationally advised priorities from the JCVI are followed so that the most vulnerable get vaccinated first,” said Mr Rennie.

“Reports that people who are not a priority are receiving the vaccine now needs a fulsome explanation from NHS Fife.

“Everyone will want the vaccine immediately but we need to have patience and faith that the authorities are working very hard and following the guidance.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said earlier this week that the fact 99% of preventable Covid-19 deaths would be covered by vaccinating priority groups was a “very compelling reason” to put those groups first in the queue.