In my previous column, I mentioned that I had been receiving multiple reports from constituents on the issue of lengthy queues and the late cancellation of vaccine appointments at Carmichael Hall in Giffnock in the final days of September.
The negative experiences of a significant number of my constituents at the vaccination site was troubling and I raised the serious concerns brought to my attention with senior health officials to ask what had been going on.
Last month, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde responded to confirm that the challenges experienced at Carmichael Hall had partly transpired because of a staff shortage.
The health board informed me that one immediate action now taken was to move staff with appropriate skills over to the vaccination programme to alleviate the difficulties.
To better understand the scale of the issues experienced at the Giffnock vaccination centre, my office also progressed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request on the number of cancelled appointments since the current phase of the vaccinations commenced in September.
The health board issued a response towards the end of October and whilst I was advised that cancellations per se are not recorded, officials did provide data comparing the number of booked appointments with the total number of attendees at the vaccination centre on a daily basis.
Whilst for most days of the month of September, there was no significant difference between appointments and attendees, this picture changed somewhat towards the end of the period included within the FOI response.
On Friday 23rd September, 1298 booked appointments had been pencilled in but at 901 attendees, there was almost 300 fewer people receiving the jab than expected.
The next day on Saturday 24th September, 1310 appointments had been scheduled but at 1084 attendees, there were more than 200 fewer vaccinations than anticipated on this date.
The statistics for Thursday 22nd and Sunday 25th September did not show as wide a gap between appointments and attendees but was around the 100 mark on both dates.
Whilst precise cancellation data is not recorded, the information that is available does strongly suggest for this four-day period in September, it is highly likely that hundreds of vaccine appointments were cancelled for people scheduled to receive their booster jab.
Covid vaccinations have been administered for almost two years now and situations where large numbers of local people in my constituency are not able to receive a vaccine dose when they have a scheduled appointment really should not be happening.
In the period since the difficulties of September were brought to my attention, I have received much less constituent correspondence on the issue and this is hopefully an indicator that matters have stabilised at Carmichael Hall after more healthcare staff were tasked with working on the vaccination programme.
I recently attended the site to receive my booster and I am pleased to report that all progressed smoothly.
As there is a need to ensure everyone who is eligible for the booster jab is able to take up this offer, it is of critical importance that people in Eastwood can receive their next vaccine dose without difficulty and it is vital that the Carmichael Hall centre runs as effectively as possible.