First Minister says system error causing people to queue in the cold for their vaccinations in Fife yesterday was particularly ‘regrettable’

Nicola Sturgeon has apologised and said that what happened in Fife yesterday when vaccination clinics faced double bookings due to a system error was ‘regrettable’.

Nicola Sturgeon says system error causing people to queue in the cold for their vaccinations in Fife yesterday was particularly ‘regrettable'.

Huge queues were reported at vaccination centres in four different towns, leading to calls for NHS Fife to take immediate action.

Ms Sturgeon said: “Yesterday there was a particular problem in Fife because it was migrating on to the Service Now platform that I’ve been speaking about that all mainland health boards are going to be on by the end of this week, and that led to a bit of a re-booking issue.”

The First Minister said that the transferring of the system effectively caused “double bookings” which meant that appointment slots were too short and “people were queuing when they shouldn’t have been”.

She added that the poor weather conditions made the situation “particularly regrettable”.

Reports of long delays emerged at centres in Kirkcaldy, Levenmouth, Glenrothes and Lochgelly as hundreds of elderly people turned up for their vaccination appointments only to discover the problem.

One man who went to Templehall Community Centre in Kirkcaldy said the queue snaked around the building and into the car park.

He estimated some 200 people were left standing still as they waited outside, describing the situation as a “shambles”.

Ms Sturgeon continued: “I don't expect people not to feel annoyed when these things happen because ideally they shouldn't happen and that's why an apology is right.

"But I would ask everybody to just bear in mind how hard health boards are working right now to get this programme delivered as quickly as possible.”

She added that staff will be trying hard to re-book people as soon as possible and while she can’t give any exact dates, she is confident that everyone who wasn’t vaccinated yesterday will be seen to soon.

If you have further questions you are advised to call the vaccination helpline to find out more.

Mr Sturgeon said finally: “There will be glitches, unfortunately in any system like this, but we try to minimise that, and right now, we will be having a bit of disruption because of the weather, some things are beyond our control but we are trying to get people done as quickly as possible.

"So, please, please be patient, be with it.”

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