Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘It’s very frustrating’: Pensioner struggles to reach anyone on phone after vaccine appointment blunder

Ian with his vaccine appointment letter.
Ian Cadger said his wife was given an appointment for a date that doesn't exist.

A north-east pensioner has spoken of his frustration after spending two days trying to change a vaccination appointment on the phone.

Ian Cadger and his wife Fiona were sent dates for their pneumococcal jabs in the post last week.

Everyone over the age of 65 is offered the vaccine to help protect them against bacterial infections which can cause serious illness.

The letters sent out by Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership warned the couple were at higher risk of falling ill with it because of their age.

‘I’m very frustrated about it’

Ian, 75, and his 73-year-old wife were keen to attend vaccine appointments arranged for them at the Garioch Vaccination Centre in Inverurie for later this month.

But Ian’s date clashed with a hospital appointment – and his wife’s jab was booked in for a date that didn’t exist.

Picture of Fiona's vaccine appointment letter with the wrong date on it.
Fiona’s vaccine appointment was booked for Friday 25th June – but the 25th falls on a Saturday this month.

They both tried calling the helpline at the end of last week but were continually placed in a queue for up to 20 minutes before the line went dead.

“The letter said that getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself against infections caused by pneumococcal bacteria,” Ian, of Ellon, said.

“It can cause serious illnesses such as pneumonia and meningitis.

“I got the letter last Thursday and I immediately picked up the phone to call but we’ve been trying ever since.

Ian outside his home in Ellon in Aberdeenshire.
Ian outside his home in Ellon in Aberdeenshire.

“I’m very frustrated about it. I want to get the vaccination if possible but we can’t get it if we can’t rearrange it.”

The pensioners also both tried various numbers on the NHS Grampian website but could not find anyone who could help them.

‘It’s very concerning’

Fiona was given an appointment for Friday, June 25 but when she looked at the calendar realised the 25th was actually a Saturday.

It would be an hour-long round trip for the pensioners to travel to the vaccination centre from their home in Ellon.

“Mistakes can be made, I accept that, but when it’s something like this it should be accurate, especially for people over 65,” Ian says.

Photograph of a letter about pneumococcal vaccines.
Pensioners are at higher risk of falling ill with pneumococcal infection.

“We’ve tried calling various departments and they just told us that if it wasn’t in connection with coronavirus they couldn’t help us.

“I’m sure we’re not the only ones who have been trying to reach someone on this number.

“I just think it’s shocking; it’s very concerning.”

Vaccine appointments: NHS Grampian apologises

When the Press and Journal contacted NHS Grampian it emerged there have been problems with the phone line.

The health board has now contacted Ian and Fiona and arranged new appointment dates for the couple.

An NHS Grampian spokeswoman said: “We had technical issues with this phoneline on Thursday and Friday of last week.

“Although information was shared on social media, we appreciate not everyone may have seen this.

“We apologise to Mr and Mrs Cadger – and to anyone else affected – and can confirm the phone line is now back in service.”

The Aberdeenshire immunisations team can be reached on 0300 128 9919.

More health news…

Aberdeen blind woman helps others after struggling to get a job

Dental appointment led to woman’s IBD diagnosis

What is SPF and how can I stay safe while enjoying the sunshine 

Conversation