Complaints against officers

[Fedster + 1,307]

Officers were turned away from entering Scotland's biggest vaccination centre in Glasgow which was initially giving left-over doses, Police Oracle understands.

Louisa Jordan vaccination centre, Glasgow.

Date - 20th May 2021
By - Chloe Livadeas

Police Scotland officers and the Federation say the Louisa Jordan vaccination centre in Glasgow did a sharp U-turn on giving officers left-over coronavirus vaccination doses at the end of the day.

Calum Steele, General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said after a “very encouraging start” in allowing officers access to leftover doses, there was a “very sharp cessation of that approach”.

“There was definitely a disjoin at the very beginning around the practicalities and the sheer common sense, making sure a vaccine wasn't wasted versus bureaucratic desire to stick rigidly to the JCVI advice,” said Mr Steele.

He said he was also aware of occasions where officers turned up in uniform when they had an appointment for their own vaccine, that some were being stopped and told they were not allowed in. They allegedly had to show evidence of their appointment in order to “get across the door”.

He called the situation “deeply frustrating” and a “narrow minded approach”, especially when across the UK local NHS partnerships with forces have been formed and cities such as Manchester have even done open calls for all members of the public to attend to get a jab.

“This particular centre took a very strident view very early on that police officers are not to be to be availed of the end of the vaccine opportunities. And given it was one of the biggest vaccine centres in the country - that's a huge missed opportunity.”

“I think it's a disappointing and sad reality,” he added.

Mr Steele called it the difference between "pencil pushers and those that perform the job in reality".

"Bureaucrats are very capable of looking for reasons not to do something whereas practitioners always look at the the practical way of doing something," he said.

The NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said in response: “At our clinics, if any vaccine is unused at the end of a session, we use a cold chain and transportation system so that in most cases doses can be redirected and used elsewhere.

“While this keeps waste to a minimum, in rare instances where wastage would be otherwise unavoidable, we will always try to offer the vaccine to patients in line with the JCVI’s priority list. This means any potential for waste is even further minimised.”

“Groups such as police officers have not, as a matter of routine, been offered left-over vaccine.

“However, on a very small number of occasions we have been happy to offer the vaccine to police officers on duty near vaccination centres.”

They added: “We do not have a ban on people wearing uniforms in vaccination centres and this has been consistently applied.”

They gave no further comment when asked if there had been a directive to stop giving to officers asking for a left-over dose or whether there was ever a ban on officers entering the site.  

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[BlueBob + 690]

Who on earth write that fed response?   How many “normal” people describe ‘sharp cessation’ ,

you can imagine there would be some officers who may have turned up in the hope of getting a jab, and quite right that if they didn’t have an appointment then they were turned away.... quite right they were asked for details of their appointment.   Not sure what the Fed’s concern is!

[Zulu 22 + 4,569]

Just shows how lowly the NHS value Police Officers. Vaccination of all emergency workers, Police, Fire, Ambulance and NHS should have been one of the first priorities. Wonderful to know how are serving officers are regarded by the society that they protect.

[BlueBob + 690]

1 hour ago, Zulu 22 said:

Just shows how lowly the NHS value Police Officers. Vaccination of all emergency workers, Police, Fire, Ambulance and NHS should have been one of the first priorities. Wonderful to know how are serving officers are regarded by the society that they protect.

The pros & cons on who gets what and when have long been discussed.   

[Zulu 22 + 4,569]

2 hours ago, BlueBob said:

The pros & cons on who gets what and when have long been discussed.   

Always nice to know that when it comes to serving Police Officers they are at the bottom of the pile.

[BlueBob + 690]

2 hours ago, Zulu 22 said:

Always nice to know that when it comes to serving Police Officers they are at the bottom of the pile.

Practically and technically thats incorrect.  Any officer, the same as any MOP, who by virtue of age or medical condition who was in the top tiers had the option for the vaccination.  Let's not forget, the jab does not prevent catching the virus, it only helps reduce the symptoms, and the symptoms are most impactive on age and medical condition rather than a role or job title.  But, as mentioned, this was discussed in the past. 

[Zulu 22 + 4,569]

11 minutes ago, BlueBob said:

Practically and technically thats incorrect.  Any officer, the same as any MOP, who by virtue of age or medical condition who was in the top tiers had the option for the vaccination.  Let's not forget, the jab does not prevent catching the virus, it only helps reduce the symptoms, and the symptoms are most impactive on age and medical condition rather than a role or job title.  But, as mentioned, this was discussed in the past. 

There will not have many who qualified by age or a medical condition, but, yes it has been discussed in the past.

[Techie1 + 2,024]

The Pfizer and AZ COVID vaccines are thought to reduce onwards transmission by circa 40-60%  - so it’s not just about reducing the symptoms / risk of hospitalisation. 
 

I won’t go into the wether they should have had earlier access or not - as said above, it’s been discussed a lot already!