Village should have its own vaccination centre, say residents

Kinver resident Graham Gough, 81, said people who were registered at the village's only doctor's surgery were being sent to Kingswinford community centre, five miles away.

But he said the centre was being overwhelmed by the number of patients being sent there, meaning they were having to go elsewhere.

Mr Gough, who lives in Holly Close, said the village had a large elderly population, and many people did not have access to a car.

He said in the past the Kinver Sports and Community Association building had been used to give flu jabs, but believed there had been a change in policy since the Kinver surgery had been taken over by Moss Grove Surgery in Kingswinford.

"Folk of Kinver are up in arms," he said.

"They are sending people to Kingswinford Community Centre for their jabs but they can't cope with the amount of people, so lots are having to go to the Black Country Museum.

"We have our own community centre in Kinver with a large car park and in the past that's where we have had our flu jabs, but since Kinver has been taken over by Moss Grove Kingswinford all has changed.

"I know the NHS has a mammoth task in organising the jabs and criticising is easy but Moss Grove Surgery has a tendency for second best for Kinver and this has come out very strongly during this epidemic."

Dr Simon Hughes, clinical director of the Kingswinford primary care network, said GP practices across the area were working together to provide a local vaccination service while continuing to maintain other services.

"From Kingswinford Community Centre we have safely vaccinated thousands of patients so far, we have been to local care homes and, for those patients who are housebound, to their own homes too," he said.

"We recognise that this service may mean patients travelling a couple of miles to receive their vaccination but when you are asked to do so we encourage you to say yes and come forward.

"Our service uses staff from across local primary care and together we are working hard to ensure that people have a safe local alternative to the other larger vaccination centres or pharmacies which they can choose to use when contacted.”

Kelvin Manners, chairman of the Kinver Patient Participation Group said he believed GPs were doing a good job in delivering the vaccine.

“I have spoken to many Kinver patients who recognise the efforts of local GPs to provide a really safe vaccination service for us as an alternative to the larger centres which are much further away," he said.

"A short drive is a small price to pay for this vaccine which offers us all hope that we might get back to some form of normality soon. When you are invited, please do get vaccinated.”