The health department announced the first of the H1N1 vaccination clinics for people with chronic health conditions (priority need) would take place Thursday.
With so many confirmed, and yet to be notified, appointments lined up we thought it would be good to get it out of the way.
We got to the clinic late afternoon (it was scheduled to be open until 8.00 pm) to find that they had cancelled it and a notice advised of an alternative. Unfortunately this meant more expense in getting there (the other side of the city) but I decided it was better than spending and not getting it done.
When the taxi driver eventually found where we had to be the expense was already more than it would have been had they not cancelled and we'd yet to get home.
But it was packed. We saw about 200 yards of a queue outside the entrance and we still couldn't see the back of it. There was no way we could have stood in line, out in the cold (zero degrees) - especially with my wife in a wheelchair. The paper today says it was a three hour wait, most of it outside.
They've handled it really badly so far. There's been a bit of information about these clinics but no arrangement to stagger those arriving. I wouldn't expect appointments, but there are other ways. Nothing's been said about showing a priority need, nothing about good times to go....absolutely zilch. And they wonder why the phone enquiry line is busy.
I called later and the recorded message said they couldn't answer enquiries and to call back another time. Pathetic.
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