Changes to the way you book your Covid Vaccination in Torbay

From Monday 25th October, all vaccination bookings for the English Riviera Centre (ERC) will be made via the National Booking System (NBS). This means you can phone 119 or go to Book or manage your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk) to book your 1st, 2nd, or booster covid-19 vaccination. Walk-ins will still be accepted for anyone aged 16 or over, but appointments are preferred.

We will no longer be able to make appointments for you. Please do not telephone us, as our reception team will only be able to signpost you back to 119.

Clinics operate Monday to Friday, between 8.30am – 5pm.

Boosters will only be given once 182 days has elapsed from second dose. You can check your eligibility on the NBS booking system here.

Children aged 12-15 can book appointments at the Riviera Centre, via NBS, but cannot walk-in.

If you have received a letter or text message regarding a 3rd primary dose vaccination due to a health condition, or medication you take, then you can walk-in to the ERC during any clinic. You must bring a copy of the letter or text message with you, or you will be turned away.

We look forward to seeing you.

We are advised that all patients will be receiving the Pfizer vaccination, regardless of the vaccination they had last time so there will be the requirement to wait on site for 15 minutes after you have been vaccinated.

All Covid-19 vaccination clinics will take place at the Riviera Centre in Torquay as before as this allows us to get through over 1,500 patients per day whilst social distancing. There is also lots of parking on site and adequate clinically trained staff to observe during the waiting period. We will be running clinics Monday to Friday 0830-1715 commencing Monday 27^th September. Please do not turn up without having a booked appointment as we will not be able to accept walk-ins during these clinics.

Flu vaccination 2021

Due to delayed delivery of our flu vaccine, we have moved our flu appointments on Sat 11 Sep to Sat 2 Oct at the same time.  Patients affected have been advised.  Patients only need to contact us if they are unable to attend on Saturday 2 October at the original time booked.

Clinics on Tue 14 September have been moved to Tue 28 September at the same time.  Patients booked in to clinics on Thur 16 September will be contacted to rebook appointments on Tue 28 September.

Any patients with flu appointments outside the above main clinics up to and including Thursday 16 September, will need to rebook their appointments. 

We are very sorry for the inconvenience this causes.  You may have seen information in the news regarding this vaccine delivery delay which is the reason for these changes.

Revised delivery dates are coming available and we aim to vaccinate patients as soon as we have certainty of delivery.

Appointments for eligible patients under 65 are still available for Saturday 25 September and we aim to have more appointments to book for patients over 65 over the coming days.

Many thanks for your forbearance.

COVID Boosters and Flu Vaccination 2021

We may be on the cusp of the school summer holidays, but planning is well underway for the autumn both in terms of the booster COVID-19 vaccine and the annual flu vaccination programme for our patients. We purchase flu vaccinations many months in advance and have all of our flu vaccinations arriving for our patients in early September.

The expanded flu vaccination programme will continue this year as part of the wider winter planning when we are likely to see both influenza and COVID-19 in circulation. This means that as well as the usual eligible flu groups, all 50-64 year olds will again be offered flu vaccination. This is alongside a booster COVID vaccination.

Currently the only site locally that we can deliver the COVID vaccination from is the Riviera International Conference Centre (RICC) in Torquay and that is unlikely to change due to the conditions the COVID vaccination needs to be stored and administered under, such as accommodating a 15 minute wait period for patients post vaccine. It is looking like we will be able to administer both the COVID booster and the Flu vaccination at the same time at that one appointment for you. Along with all the GP practices in Torbay, we are working on plans setting up clinics ready for patients to book into from September and will provide further details as soon they are available. By working together and utilising the site at RICC in Torquay we are able to vaccinate around 1,500 patients per day, ensuring that we get through all the cohorts for the boosters and flu as quickly as possible. We just wanted to take this time to reassure you that we’ve got you covered this winter.

Have a safe summer,

Chilcote Surgery