Healthwatch City of London Bulletin 26

Priority groups 1- 7 are now being invited for the vaccination. Join us for our vaccination programme update event on 10th March.
Handwashing

COVID 19 Vaccination update

The following advice on the vaccination programme is the same for City & Hackney and Tower Hamlets residents.  

City and Hackney CCG and Tower Hamlets CCG are now vaccinating priority cohorts 1-7:

  • aged 70 or above or clinically extremely vulnerable (high risk) and have not had your first vaccination and haven't been booked in yet, please contact your GP
  • a resident or work in a care home for older adults and haven't had your first vaccine and aren't booked in for one, please contact your manager
  • a frontline health and social care worker, please book on the national booking system or contact your manager or book using the staff booking system applicable in your organisation
  • aged 65-69 please book onto the national booking system for a list of sites, wait to get a letter from the NHS or you will be contacted by your GP.
  • aged 16-64 and clinically vulnerable (moderate risk) or you are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or if you are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill, please wait for your GP or council to contact you
  • aged 60-63 years please book onto the national booking system for a list of sites, wait to get a letter from the NHS or you will be contacted by your GP

There are four local vaccinations sites in City and Hackney:

  • Primary Care sites – Bocking Street and John Scott (booked through GPs)
    • COVID Vaccination Centre, 3A Bocking Street, E8 3RU
    • John Scott Health Centre, Green Lanes, London, N4 2NU
  • Pharmacy sites – Clapton and Mare Street (booked through the national booking portal)
    • Clockwork Pharmacy - 398-400 Mare Street, Hackney, London E8 1HP
    • Bees Pharmacy - 199-201 Rushmore Road, Clapton, E5 0HD

Vaccinations for residents registered at Tower Hamlets GP’s are being administered from: 

    • Newby Place Health and Wellbeing Centre, 21 Newby Place, Poplar, E14 0EY
    • Queen Mary’s University, Arts Research Centre, Mile End Road, E14 4NS

Eligible patients can choose to be vaccinated at other sites showing on the national booking portal (mass vaccination centre at Excel or pharmacies in neighbouring boroughs).

There are currently no Coronavirus vaccinations at St Bartholomew’s.

St Bartholomew's are currently advising people to go to ExCeL London or to their local vaccine hub as detailed above. 

Information for City and Hackney Health and Social Care Staff only.

Homerton Hospital will start administering the second doses of the Covid-19 Vaccine from 16th March 2021. Second doses are given 10-12 weeks after the first dose.

Important Instructions for your 2nd Dose

·         If you walked in for your 1st dose without a booking, please walk into either the education centre at Homerton Hospital, or the Great Hall at St Leonards Hospital for your 2nd dose 10 weeks after the date of your 1st dose. 

·         If you had a pre booked appointment for your 1st dose, please check your email or text for confirmation on when to attend for your 2nd dose.

If staff booked an appointment for their first dose then they should already have a text or email with their second dose appointment. If staff have not received a text or email about their second dose then they should follow the instructions below on walk-in.

For staff that walked into St Leonards for their first dose on Wednesday 13th or Thursday 14th January, and are due their 2nd dose on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th March respectively, please note that the St Leonards Clinic now only runs on a Thursday. See times and locations for walk-in clinics below.

Walk-in Times and Locations:

Please do not attend earlier than 10 weeks, and no later than 12 weeks, following your first dose. We will not be able to vaccinate you if you arrive earlier than 10 weeks from your first dose.

1.      Walk-in appointments are available at the Education Centre in Homerton Hospital. The Education Centre is situated at the rear of the hospital site and can be accessed via Clifden Road Entrance https://www.homerton.nhs.uk/finding-us Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday), first walk-in 8.20am and last walk-in 4.30pm

2.       Walk-in appointments available at St Leonard's Hospital, in the Main Hall. Entrance to Hospital Via Nuttal Street, N1 5LZ. There is parking on site. https://www.homerton.nhs.uk/st-leonards Clinics run on Thursdays onlyFirst walk-in at 9.20am and last walk-in at 2.45pm.

If you any queries you can email the Homerton Hospital Staff Covid-19 Vaccination Programme  Helpdesk at  huh-tr.staffvaccinationhelpdesk@nhs.net

If you have any concerns about receiving your second dose and would like to speak with a clinical lead for reassurance, please email the helpdesk and request a call back from a clinical lead.

COVID 19 vaccination programme information event – Wednesday 10th March

We are holding an event to give you the latest update on the vaccination programme across the City of London. Residents from the City, Tower Hamlets and Islington are all invited to submit questions prior to the event, which will then be put to the panel. Confirmed for the panel are Dr Sandra Husbands, Director Public Health, City of London and Hackney Public Health and Dr Mark Rickets, Chair NHS City and Hackney CCG. The event will be chaired by our Chair Gail Beer.

The event will be held via zoom between 6pm – 7pm. To submit a question and to register for the event, please email info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk

Upcoming Healthwatch City of London Events

One of Healthwatch City of London’s purposes is to understand the needs, experiences and concerns of people who use health and social care services and to speak out on their behalf. To ensure we hear of and know of your concerns we run regular events. Ideally, we’d like to hold them face to face, but because of the current pandemic we are restricted to Zoom events.

Please see a list of our events below with joining details.

Listening to City Carers - Friday 19th March

Overview: This group is for all unpaid carers who live in the City of London. We would love to hear from young carers too.

Time: 11am – 12am

Joining details:
https://zoom.us/j/93199467983?pwd=aUFYU3pPMmxFTEVpOStEdFRMMTRpQT09

Meeting ID: 931 9946 7983 Passcode: 071855 Dial in: 0203 481 5237 United Kingdom
 

Healthwatch City of London Drop-in Session – Thursday 25th March

Overview: The theme for the session this month is ‘your experience of the COVID vaccination’. We’d like to hear of your experiences of booking, travelling to vaccination centres, access to information etc. The session if also designed for anyone to join, for you to raise any issues you have with the health and social care provided from the City of London, ask questions and to talk to us about any areas of support or help you need. 

Time: 2pm – 4pm

Joining details:  
https://zoom.us/j/96303607406?pwd=WXZ1SkxBcjVlUExmamVXaldkeFl1dz09

Meeting ID: 963 0360 7406 Passcode: 538429 Dial in: 0203 481 5237

CCG Vaccination events

The City and Hackney CCG are organising a series of events regarding the vaccination. These are both information sessions and vaccination clinics.

Turkish, Kurdish and Turkish Cypriot Community Conversation on Covid-19 vaccine

Tuesday 9 March 6:00pm-7:30pm

Hackney, Enfield and Haringey councils are co-hosting a community conversation on the coronavirus vaccine led by Prof Kevin Fenton from Public Health England as well local Turkish speaking medical professionals aimed at local Turkish, Kurdish and Turkish Cypriot communities. This event forms a part of a series of community conversations local health and care partners are hosting with our diverse communities. It will be an opportunity for people to hear about the vaccination rollout in London and will give members of the public the chance to directly ask medical professionals, including Prof Kevin Fenton.

There are Turkish speaking medical professionals on the panel, so people can ask their questions in Turkish if they wish.

People can watch the webinar via Zoom:

Join online: bit.ly/306nLMt
Webinar ID 970 4312 7076

or people can watch it via Facebook Live on the Enfield Council page: http://facebook.com/EnfieldCouncilUK 

Hackney Community African Network online event

Saturday 13 March, 2:00pm – 4:00pm

The event will have speakers from the Congolese, Somali, Guinea Bissau, Tigray and East African communities.

There will be breakout rooms in French, Somali, Swahili, Portuguese, Tigrinya and English.

For more information click here.

Voice for disabled residents

Disabled residents have faced more difficulties during Covid. Healthwatch and local health providers are trying to find out what can be done to make things better.  

If you have a health condition that impacts your daily life, we want you to help shape healthcare services locally by completing our questionnaire.

You can access the survey by clicking on this link https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NEL_disabled

If you look after somebody who would not be able to answer questions themselves, for example if you are the parent of a disabled young child, the carer for someone with a severe learning disability or dementia please complete this survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NEL_carers

Anyone who completes the survey can enter into a draw to win Amazon vouchers.

21 March is Census Day

The census is a survey that happens every 10 years and gives a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales. The next census takes place on Sunday 21 March 2021.

Everyone must complete it and provide accurate information as it helps decide how services are funded in their local area. Organisations such as the City of London Corporation and charities use this information to plan and fund the services we all need, including transport, education and healthcare – especially important given the pandemic.

A Census form will be delivered through your door for completion. However, Census 2021 is a digital-first census, which means that people are encouraged to respond online if they can. You will be able to complete the census using any device, including your mobile phone or tablet.

If you need help, there is an online help area on the website, they also offer help by phone on 0800 141 2021. If you need to speak to them in another language, call the free language helpline on 0800 587 2021.

City Carers Share and Learn sessions

City Carers community invites you to ‘Share and Learn’ sessions for 45 minutes via Zoom. These are open to carers or anyone who is looking after someone/ has looked after someone living in the City of London. 

They share tips/advice they have come across in their own caring lives. You may have a question of " How do I get a carer letter for supermarkets?  Has anyone tried..?. I've got this form any tips?  There is a new testing site, anyone been?  or a general natter the options are endless. 

The group is run by carers and for carers voluntarily.  Sessions are on Monday. There are two times at 11.15am and at 8pm. In March the dates are 15th & 29th March. For more details and the Zoom Link please email: CityCarersCommunity@gmail.com

Latest Covid-19 statistics for the City of London

The joint City and Hackney Public Health Intelligence Team produce regular statistics on Covid-19 levels in the City. The site below breaks down the cases in the City, and in Hackney, and by Ward, this enables residents to see the wider picture of infection rates. The site is updated regularly. https://hackney.gov.uk/coronavirus-data

Keep up to date with the latest advice

HWCoL are constantly updating our advice and information pages. Please make sure you visit them regularly.

Get in touch with Healthwatch City of London

Visit our website for more information, news and events, have your say about your care, and spread the word about Healthwatch City of London.

www.healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk email: info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk

Tel: 020 3745 9563 Facebook: facebook.com/CoLHealthwatch Twitter: @HealthwatchCoL

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