Some Banbury surgeries are to stop providing Covid vaccinations - patients will need to find other centres for their jabs

At least two Banbury area surgeries are to stop providing Covid-19 vaccinations with thousands of patients still needing their first or second jabs.
Cropredy Surgery, where GPs will return to normal work addressing backlogs that have built up during the Covid vaccination processCropredy Surgery, where GPs will return to normal work addressing backlogs that have built up during the Covid vaccination process
Cropredy Surgery, where GPs will return to normal work addressing backlogs that have built up during the Covid vaccination process

Cropredy Surgery and Hightown Surgery in Banbury put out notices to their patients this week. Both have risen to the challenge of providing vaccinations to their patients as well as managing ordinary GP services.

Now they have provided vaccinations to most of the most vulnerable groups they say they need to return to a more normal workload and address some backlogs.

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It is understood a 'mass vaccination' hub at Superdrug in Banbury is one option available to patients or regional centres such as Stoneleigh and the Kassam Stadium, Oxford.

Hightown Surgery said: "Hightown surgery have now given first dose (and many second doses) to over 90 per cent of all patients aged 50 and over and those 18-49 year olds with health conditions that make them eligible for a flu jab and all clinically extremely vulnerable patients.

"All those in these groups have been invited and those unvaccinated are through personal choice, being far from home/abroad, in hospital or too unwell to have the vaccine currently.

"In more detailed analysis 99 per cent of our care home residents are vaccinated, 96 per cent of over 80s and health and social care workers, 97 per cent of 75-79s, and 96 per cent of 70-74 year olds and those clinically extremely vulnerable. The Hightown team, supported by our fantastic volunteers, have given a total of 4,800 vaccinations in just three months.

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"Now that we have ensured the vast majority of our most Covid vulnerable group of patients have been vaccinated and there is, at last, a local mass vaccination centre (Superdrug) in town, the partnership have made the decision to re-focus on our usual practice work and start addressing the backlog of routine reviews, as well as responding to the nationwide upsurge in patient demand of recent weeks.

"We are confident that under 50 year olds who do not have significant health conditions are in a position to access alternative vaccine clinics, where they will also have wider choice of appointment times.

"If you are 18-49 year old and healthy you will be invited for vaccination through the national booking system. Please do not approach the practice about this, as we have no control over this system. We are proud of our achievements in keeping the practice running in addition to the massive workload associated with this vaccination programme and are grateful for the appreciation that many of you have expressed.£

Cropredy Surgery said: "We have now completed all our first vaccinations for Cohorts 1-9 and are well into our second vaccinations for these groups.

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"We will not be continuing into Cohorts 10-12 as the local population is well served by vaccination centres and we want to focus completely on the medical care of our patients at the surgery.

"Being only a small surgery it has very much stretched us to deliver the vaccination program, yet we achieved a phenomenal success of which we are very proud. We are inordinately grateful to all the help that our patients and volunteers have given us, without whom we would have struggled to give the initial 2000 vaccinations, let alone the second 2000 doses which we will complete by June 2021."

Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group is to provide a list of alternative vaccination venues which we will add to this article as soon as we receive it.

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