‘We are very sorry’ - NHS Lothian apologies over 3 hour waits for Covid-19 jab at Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre

NHS Lothian has apologised to hundreds of people forced to wait more than three hours for their vaccine at The Lowlands Hall yesterday.

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Queues outside the Ingliston vaccine hub yesterday afternoon stretched more than 100 yards and were described by one onlooker as “pandemonium”.

Healthcare leaders have warned that waiting times may increase as the vaccine programme enters its busiest phase this week.

Director of nursing for primary and community care at NHS Lothian Pat Wynne.

NHS Lothian plans to vaccinate more than 87,000 people by Sunday and have given a first dose of the life-saving jab to 700,000 people.

People waiting at The Lowlands Hall yesterday blasted NHS Lothian for poor management of the vaccine rollout.

Nurse director of primary and community care at NHS Lothian, Pat Wynne has apologised for the long waiting times which were caused by staffing issues.

He said: "We are very sorry for the unusual wait experienced by people attending our largest venue yesterday which was due to staffing issues and would like to thank people for their patience and understanding.”

People queued for hours for their jag.

Despite the significant delays, everyone who attended their appointment received their vaccine by the end of the working day and the centre is on track to vaccinate thousands more this week.

My Wynne said: “We are now underway with our busiest week in our vaccination programme so far, with more than 87,000 people expected to attend appointments this week.

"Our teams worked hard to address the delay and staff were deployed from other areas to support. Everyone received their vital vaccine and the centre closed on time at 6.30pm.”

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