Slow but steady progress from firsts to seconds

Well it has been a little quieter as anticipated. Over the last few of weeks at QMU we have been running at perhaps 40% of capacity on average.

We continue to have wee stories, such as the young person outwith our age limit criteria with a special letter of dispensation to receive the vaccine, a client a with rare and unusual anaphylaxis history which, if accurate, meant they could not safely be vaccinated at QMU and occasional walk-in clients very unhappy at being turned away. Also a small number of very anxious recipients who turn out to anxious about everything!

We have this week moved back to Pfizer with some very short expiry stock but have used up all available vials within the time required. I believe that next week will see us begin to pivot to focus more on second doses.

Since new staff have been recruited to deputise for the clinical lead there has also been less need to cover this role which has meant more time for vaccinating. In the last six shifts I have only been in charge for one and a bit of them which is a pleasant change.

We have also heard some news of relocating. It seems that sometime over the summer we will move to an alternative site. I presumed this might be because QMU need their space back before the autumn term begins. However I have also heard that it may be down to scheduled road works on the A1 which may make access to the site more problematic. In either scenario it is not yet known where we might move to but if we were remain in Musselburgh I wondered whether the Tesco car park in the town centre might be a possible location. I guess it will ultimately depend on a whole lot of variables around access and availability.

In other unrelated news the easing of lockdown rules, and improving spring weather, has allowed me to get back into the Scottish hills. I walked the four Tyndrum Munros (all west of Tyndrum) earlier this week and was rewarded with some splendid views.

Until next time.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

So long and thanks for all the fish

  Well that's a bit odd. I think I may have completed my last shift as a vaccinator at the weekend there... I finally managed to get some movement on joining the staff bank. Following some excellent advice from wiser colleagues I made direct email contact with some NHS Lothian high heid yins and lo and behold it worked. I should be part of the staff bank before the end of the month. It's a shame it took so long and required such escalation but hey ho, that's sometimes how it needs to go. So, why have I finished so abruptly? Well, I am on annual leave for the next two weeks, my contract ends at the end of March, hopefully smoothly eliding into a bank contract and I have 24hrs of annual leave remaining...which pretty much covers the remainder of March. So...that's it. I'm done. At least for the time being. My last couple of shifts over the weekend were fairly quiet and uneventful. I met two former colleagues from health who I worked with in East Lothian a good few...
Read more

Spoon man, sweary fitba fan, QMU get together, Hogmanay moon boots, possible re-registration and jabbing on in Leith

Time for a new update… Vaccinations continue apace at Leith. The very busy clinics of a month or so ago are beginning to quieten down lately. I presume we will soon start to do boosters and flu jabs by appointment before too long as drop-in first and second jabs appear to reducing in number as is only to be expected. Now for two of my favourite recent vaccine hesitant clients. First up is Spoon Man closely followed by Sweary Fitba Fan. Spoon Man came in for his second vaccination. After receiving it he asked if he could ask what he thought might be a stupid or silly question. I encouraged him to ask away. He said that he had seen a lady online who, after receiving her vaccination, had attached a spoon to her arm at the injection site thereby supporting the “theory” that Covid vaccinations are magnetised, or contain magnetic material. He said he had brought his own spoon. Trying hard to keep my eyebrows attached to my face I indicated that he sho...
Read more

Rejoining the NMC (Nursing) Register

Okay, day one of my attempt to return to nursing following three years of retirement. First a wee bit background. I retired from the NHS just over three years ago after a career as a nurse, health visitor, public health practitioner and clinical nurse manager. I enjoyed all of my roles in the NHS , some more than others and liked the vast majority of the colleagues I worked alongside and the clients I worked with. However I have also absolutely loved retirement. I did a very small amount of bank health visiting immediately following retirement but found that it interfered too much with my retirement plans and activities. And then along came coronavirus, or s evere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and its consequence, covid-19 – the worlds first full blown pandemic for over 100 years. And so I thought, what could I do? I am no longer a registered nurse or health visitor. My registration having lapsed at the end of January 2020 and I had not considered renewing ...
Read more