Sheffield patients walked five miles in snow to find Covid vaccinations postponed

A woman told how she and her husband had braved the freezing conditions and trekked from their home in Wincobank to the surgery in Southey where they were booked in to be vaccinated last Thursday, January 14.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, Gloria, who did not give her surname, said they had set off for The Health Care Surgery on Palgrave Road after trying unsuccessfully to contact the clinic to check their appointments were still on.

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“We got there and we’re looking at the entrance where to go in and a little man came out who was very abrupt,” she said.

"He said have you come for your jabs and we said yes and he said there isn’t any. Nobody’s turned up to do them. It’s been rescheduled. You can imagine how annoyed we were.”

She told Toby Foster they had set off at around 12.40pm and arrived back home three hours later after a 10-mile round trip, with no taxis having been available.

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“There was no explanation from anyone and we’ve still not had a phone call to say we’re sorry we had to close, they were sorry to reschedule. Nothing,” she added.

A spokeswoman for NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “We’re sorry to hear about the experience that these patients had. All patients who were booked in for a vaccination at the clinic at the Health Care Surgery, Palgrave Road that was cancelled last Thursday were phoned or texted to tell them that the clinic was cancelled.

“These patients have been booked in for a vaccination this Thursday."

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Gloria wasn’t the only person to describe making a wasted journey in the treacherous conditions having not been informed about appointments being postponed.

Another woman said she rang the surgery in the morning and got a message saying everyone was busy and nobody could answer the phone so she decided to set off.

She said she had been taken by her son, who had to leave work to get her there.