Covid vaccines: Probe as hundreds fail to attend appointments

Officials in the Swansea Bay health board area are urging people to keep their jab appointments

People are being urged to attend vaccine appointments after hundreds failed to show up for their jabs.

In the Swansea Bay area almost 500 people did not attend on Monday.

At a mass vaccination centre in Bangor, in Gwynedd, almost 200 people failed to show up over a three-day period.

The Welsh government said it was investigating after reports of "people not attending their vaccine appointments".

As of Monday, 1,413,710 had received their first dose of the vaccine in Wales, the equivalent of 44.8% of the Welsh population, according to Public Health Wales.

A further 7,016 people received a second vaccination, taking the total number of people who are now fully vaccinated to 424,016, which is 13.4% of the population.

However, officials have stressed vaccines were safe amid concerns about blood clots, and urged people to turn up for their appointments if invited, after reports from health boards of rising no-shows.

Celebrities and health professionals have joined a bid to encourage more people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to get the vaccine, amid concerns that rumours and disinformation about the jabs were stopping people taking up the offer.

Swansea Bay University Health Board issued a warning on social media after more than a quarter of people booked in for the jab at a mass vaccination centre failed to turn up on Monday.

The health board, which serves Neath Port Talbot and Swansea areas, said out of 1,750 appointments, 492 did not attend, the equivalent of 28%.

The health board said numbers failing to turn up for their first doses had fallen after rising over the weekend.

'Going in right direction'

Louise Platt, head of operations at the health board, said it was unclear why there had been a spike in "did not attend" (DNA) numbers, but they had "been increasing over the past few days".

"Today the DNA rate across our three Mass Vaccination Centres...has fallen to 16.5%, which is still higher than our usual daily average of 6% but going in the right direction," she said.

Ms Platt said while there was a reserve list for vaccines, this was not one the public could request to join and urged people not to ring the health board.

"We continue to urge everyone to attend their vaccination appointment if they can do so. If not, please telephone or email us to rearrange or cancel at the earliest opportunity," she said.

At one vaccination centre in Bangor, staff reported more than 100 patients failed to attend their slot over the weekend, with a further 90 not turning up on Monday.

In a post on social media, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said the no-shows at Ysbyty Enfys meant many vaccination slots were wasted, and others had to be filled at short notice.

In a statement the board said no-shows put a lot of pressure on GP surgeries and the health board, and the vaccination programme needed to be completed as "swiftly as possible".

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, responsible for caring for people in some of the communities worst hit by Covid-19, said it was asking those aged 40 to 49 to join a reserve list so "no vaccine was wasted" due to missed appointments.

The health board's director of planning and performance, Clare Williams, said: "We have seen over the past couple of weeks, a small number of people fail to show for their appointments which is something we want to address.

"No vaccine has been wasted because of this, but the reserve list will make sure we continue to use every single dose available."

The Hywel Dda University Health Board also said the number of "did not attend" (DNA) incidents had increased in recent weeks.

Ros Jervis, director of public health at the board, said: "As we move through the priority groups, DNA rates have increased a little and vary significantly between mass vaccination centres.

"To ensure that no vaccine is ever wasted we currently operate a reserve list for care home, health and social care staff in priority groups 1 and 2 who, for any reason, missed their initial opportunities for vaccination (including new staff).

In Powys, the health board has also set up a reserve list for people aged 40 to 49 willing to be called at short notice for an appointment at a mass vaccination centre.

'Looking into no-shows'

The Welsh government said it was looking into why so many people were not attending vaccine appointments, and people needed to ensure their GPs had their correct address.

"We recognise the importance of wasting as little of the vaccines as possible," a spokesman said.

"All health boards have arrangements in place to give others, in the priority groups, the vaccine in the event of no-shows or cancellations.

"This has ensured the number of doses unable to be used has been very low, under 1%, significantly below the anticipated levels."