Revealed: How long will Northern NSW wait to book Covid shot online?
High demand has caused our health district phone lines to be swamped, but why can’t we book online like other areas?
Grafton
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The demand for a Covid-19 vaccine continues to be high across Northern NSW, forcing many residents to endure a frustrating wait.
Residents in the Northern NSW Local Health District do not have the ability to book online for the three vaccination clinics in Grafton, Lismore and Tweed Heads, and are instead directed to a central booking number to book vaccination times.
This is despite the website asking people to use online booking forms before phone lines, where available, on the Federal Government’s eligibility checker website.
A search of the NNSWLHD vaccination clinics, including GP led services finds online a few GPs who have their own online booking system.
Further south, equivalent state-run vaccination clinics at Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie have online booking systems built in.
There have been complaints from many members of the community about contacting the phone service since its inception, with people either placed on hold for excessive periods of time, or the line not working at all.
The Daily Examiner has had staff placed on hold for more than 30 minutes before giving up on several occasions over the past week.
Acting Chief Executive NNSWLHD Lynne Weir said the telephone booking system was introduced by the LHD to provide a single avenue through which members of the public, including the elderly, could make their booking and discuss their priority group with a staff member.
“As the Commonwealth Government has expanded eligibility for the vaccination program, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of calls being received,” she said.
“On average, our booking line is receiving more than 1,000 calls per day. As a result, some people have had difficulty getting through, and we apologise for these delays.
“In line with the extra demand, we have increased resourcing for the booking line, with more staff answering calls and returning call requests lodged online.”
Ms Weir said an online self-booking system was expected to be available early next month.
“We encourage anyone who has had difficulty to please call again, or lodge a call back request through our website https://nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au,” she said.
“Once again, I thank the community for their patience and assure people that everyone who wants to be vaccinated will be vaccinated.”
Booking details for all COVID-19 vaccination clinics in the region, including NSW Health, Commonwealth and GP led clinics, can be found via the Federal Government’s eligibility checker at https://www.health.gov.au
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