Covid-19 Vaccinations and Information for Painswick Surgery Patients
Government Information about the vaccine can also be found at: GOV.UK – Covid-19 Vaccination
1st April 2021 – Painswick Surgery Vaccination Progress Update
Painswick Surgery, together with the other four surgeries in our Network, has now given first COVID-19 vaccinations to over 20,000 patients. We have also given over 2,800 second vaccinations. Most patients in cohorts 1-9 have been vaccinated. We will continue to send out invitations to patients in cohort 10 (40 to 49 year olds) over the next few weeks.
Most vaccinations have taken place at the Rowcroft Medical Centre in Stroud, although we are now also vaccinating at Horsfall House in Minchinhampton.
Any patient over 50 years old who has not been vaccinated should call the surgery as soon as possible to arrange an appointment.
Patients should expect their second vaccination to be about 11 weeks after their first vaccination. However, the exact date and time of second vaccination appointments may be different from the date given when the initial booking was made.
Painswick Surgery will contact patients both by text message to mobile phones and by letter if the appointment date is changed.
Patients should be reassured that all second vaccinations should happen within 12 weeks of their first vaccination.
Although we will be giving some first vaccinations in April, most of the vaccinations for the next month will be second vaccinations.
Here are a few messages from our patients
Dear Doctor Evans,
Having heard of much sniping criticism from the media about vaccination plans and progress, etc. I thought it might cheer you and your colleagues up if I related my experience on Friday at Rowcroft Medical Centre: I was dropped off at the Rowcroft car park a few minutes before the my allotted vaccination time and directed onwards by our own practice manager (he and a colleague were doing a sterling job handling assorted ancients in a steady stream of cars into and out of parking spaces).
Onwards was well organised with staff every few yards guiding and assisting the infirm up the ramp to the check point , to be verified and recorded, then ushered on to temperature and current health monitoring before being whisked to a safely spaced seat: very soon I was ushered in before a friendly but inquisitorial doctor, who delivered the injection; then I was escorted out to sit in a waiting area for the mandatory 10 (?) minutes (a sticker giving the release time had been stuck on my jacket by the doctor), before being directed back out into the car park.
The whole process took no more than 20 minutes from/to car. Most of my fellow inocculees were ancient/decrepit or both – and probably a little stressed too – but we were all handled gently but firmly, and no one was ever hurried along – it was rather like joining a slow and stately conveyor belt!
I was most impressed by the whole process; clearly a lot of planning and practice had gone into fine tuning this event, which included medical professionals from Painswick and other outlying surgeries; in my opinion it was an outstanding success.
Please pass on my thanks to all Painswick staff who were involved.
Best wishes,
(Patients name withheld for patient confidentiality)
Dear Painswick Surgery,
I should like to add my praise and say how grateful I am to you all for your efficiency in getting us through this first stage of vaccination. It was a bit worrying before the event but good to see Dr Rhys Evans on arrival. All staff doctors nurses were very friendly and the vaccination was painless and the whole operation was over in less than an hour. Well done Painswick we seem to be well ahead of the rest of the country.
Thank you,
(Patients name withheld for patient confidentiality)