Brendan Smith urges action on vaccine delays for over-85s

Thank you very much, Alaska and Corley. First of all, a year into the pandemic, I want to take the opportunity again to complement all our frontline workers, all workers providing different services for us through very, very challenging times. And I want to highlight again the particular role of our healthcare workers. They've spent a year, a very, very difficult year, dealing with a deadly virus. And we all know that they have been working in very, very challenging circumstances, oftentimes with reduced staff complement because of their colleagues being out sick, etc. They've really done a marvellous job and continue to do it in still very difficult circumstances. The government quite rightly, or NEF had made the right decision to prioritise the healthcare frontline workers for vaccination in the first cohort, along with long-term residents of our nursing homes. And that was the right decision. And then the over 85s were prioritised then. I have to say that, unfortunately, some practices have not yet received their vaccines. for the over 85s. And I would appeal to the Minister to insist to the HSE that those practices that have not yet received their vaccine for the over 85s, and be a very small number, I believe, that they must get the vaccines this week, because I have it from constituents myself, who are very concerned that they haven't yet been called for the vaccine because their GP practice hasn't received it. I represent Cavanagh and Monaghan. Many of our neighbours in Fermanagh are their own. Thankfully, they have got their vaccine. We know that they're providing the vaccine now in Northern Ireland to a much younger age cohort. So when we have older people who haven't yet got their vaccine, their neighbours or their cousins or their relations, and they are getting their vaccine north of the border and the best of luck to them. But I would appeal to the Minister to ensure that where that exists, that those particular difficulties are ironed out. for different categories of cases for different categories of people, people underlying health conditions, people working in different areas. But I'm amazed that members of Angarda Siakana have not got a higher prioritisation in relation to the rollout of the vaccine programme. They, along with other frontline workers have done exceptionally good work over the past 12 months in dealing with this pandemic. So I would appeal to the Minister and whoever makes the recommendation on this, that the review again, the placing of Angarda Siakana in whatever particular category. Minister, up until now, there has been a problem internally in the HSE communicating with GPs. We know that from speaking to GPs, there was utter frustration at times, making calls, calls not being returned, you never got speaking to the same person a second time. When there's a dedicated helpline, then there should be identified officials to deal with particular counties. And if a GP from cabin rings, that GP should be able to talk to a small team of people, not talk to somebody that they hadn't spoken to before, or who claims that they have no knowledge of the particular queries. Clinicians, GPs and other clinicians in practices, they have too much to do. They are under too much pressure to be wasting their time on the phone, making needless calls that shouldn't be arising in the first place, because calls have not been returned, and then speaking to different people outlining the same query on numerous occasions. That has to be streamlined. And unfortunately, in life, there's a tendency nowadays not to return calls. That's in some elements of the public service. It's also in the private sector as well. You bang off an email that says nothing. There's nothing like picking up the phone, talking to the clinician who has the concerns. Because I spoke to a clinician this morning, and that GP in a small practice was starting out to make calls to some of his patients that he had arranged to administer vaccine to tomorrow, and unfortunately, he doesn't have enough vaccine to administer to all of them. That's a source of huge disappointment. Ok. Anna if you'd like to thank Pat. Thank you so much and thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you to the point. Thank you to...