By mid-February 2021 the Government aimed to have all over-70s and people classed as clinically extremely vulnerable given their first of two vaccinations against Covid-19, but told people they should wait to be invited for their appointment. Now, the NHS wants anyone over 70 or clinically extremely vulnerable who has not had their first jab to contact them to get vaccinated.
Contact the NHS on 119 or book an appointment online here http://www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination. If a suitable appointment is not available, you can ring your GP.
If you are not registered with a GP, you can register without giving an address, and by using the surgery’s own address if there is no address you can use for contact. You should not be asked for identification, or for a postcode, or an address, or for proof of your immigration status. If you are a long way from your own GP, you can register as a temporary patient with another GP for up to three months.
Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) have launched a special helpline, running until the end of May, to help travelling communities with getting registered with and accessing a GP during the pandemic. If you are having any problems registering with a GP, call Billie at Friends, Families and Travellers between Tuesdays and Fridays on 07917 357241.
If you’re on the western K&A anywhere between the Long Pound and Hanham, contact the Julian House Travelling Communities Support Service:
for Wiltshire, Carla Boardman, carla.boardman@julianhouse.org.uk or for anywhere between Dundas and Hanham, Alice Young, alice.young@julianhouse.org.uk or 07960 097719.
Friends, Families and Travellers are distributing these cards that you can show at a GP surgery
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a84gEjDtGgI
and
https://www.gypsy-traveller.org/advice-section/accessing-a-gp-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/
If you are having problems registering, you can also call the NHS England Customer Contact Centre on 0300 311 22 33.
The Covid-19 vaccination programme has now moved on to the over 65s, over 60s and ‘at risk’ groups. The appointments for Covid-19 jabs are being sent using the records held by GP surgeries, so you need to be registered in order to get the vaccination. Some people will be contacted by text or phone as well as by letter, if the GP surgery has your phone number.
There will be a 12-week gap between the first and second vaccinations, so you may wish to tell CRT that you have to travel back to a place for this purpose, to avoid enforcement action at a later date. If you do this and CRT does take enforcement action against you we suggest making a formal complaint. See http://kanda.boatingcommunity.org.uk/using-the-bw-complaints-process/
If you are not registered with a GP, or if you need to register as a temporary patient, it may be advisable to wait until you are invited for a vaccination and then find your nearest GP and use this form to register with them:
https://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/Documents/Doctors/GMS3.pdf
To find the nearest GP, see https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp
Tags: complaints, continuous cruising, Coronavirus, Covid-19 vaccination, enforcement, Friends Families and Travellers, GP registration, Julian House, liveaboards, NHS, Travelling Community Support Service