Last updated: 15 April 2021
We’ve now offered first dose Covid vaccine appointments to all patients aged 75 years and over, and all shielding (priority group 4) patients. These are the only groups we’re vaccinating at Riverside. Shielders should have already received their letter from the Government or already have been defined as a shielder by their GP.
We’re currently booking in second dose appointments for these groups. Second doses will be given up to 12 weeks after your first dose. Please wait for us to call you with your appointment details.
If you believe you fall into one of these groups but haven’t yet had a first dose of the Covid vaccine please call us to book an appointment.
All other groups: please check the NHS Inform website or call the national Covid-19 vaccination helpline on 0800 030 8013 for details about when they will be offered the vaccine and all other general queries, including about your specific medical history and whether you can have the vaccine.
Housebound patients
Local health board teams will continue to vaccinate housebound registered patients, when it’s their priority group’s turn. Read the priority group list here on the gov.uk website. Please wait to be contacted by the housebound team direct.
Media release
The first patients at Riverside Medical Practice received the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday 11 January, after an initial allocation of the vaccine arrived and the wider national COVID-19 vaccination programme starts to get underway.
All patients registered with the practice who are 80 years and over, and able to attend the clinic in person will receive a phone call or letter inviting them to an appointment at the surgery over the coming weeks, when additional allocations of the vaccine are sent to General Practices across Scotland.
Patients should wait to be contacted for an appointment: a team at the surgery will be working its way through the list of those eligible, as new batches of the vaccine arrive.
“We’re delighted to start playing our part in this crucial national COVID-19 vaccination programme”
Dr Joanna Stenke, GP Partner, Riverside Medical Practice
“By being vaccinated we can all play our part in ending this pandemic, and look forward to the return of parts of life we miss so much, such as spending time with family and friends.
“I wholeheartedly recommend that everyone eligible should have the vaccine. I had my first dose as soon as it was offered to frontline health workers and know my family will be lining up to do the same as soon as they’re eligible.
“GPs across the country have been asked by the Government to offer the vaccine to those aged 80 and over initially, in line with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s list of the most at-risk groups. There’s no need to contact the surgery: this first group of patients – and every group GPs are asked to offer the vaccine to thereafter – will get a phone call or letter with all the details they need.
“While it’s great news that this first group of patients are getting the vaccine, it’s important that we all continue to follow the national and local guidance to prevent transmission of the virus, even after vaccination. It’s only when a good number of us have been vaccinated that we’ll start to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” concluded Dr Stenke.
Housebound patients aged 80 and over
Riverside is working in partnership with the local health board vaccination teams, who will be vaccinating housebound patients aged 80 and over. They will also get in touch with those patients directly, so please wait to be contacted.
More information
You can find out more about COVID-19 vaccines, including who will vaccinated and when:
- By visiting www.nhsinform.scot
- By calling 0800 030 8013 (Mon–Sun, 8am–8pm – this is an information helpline: COVID-19 vaccine appointments can’t be booked or changed by calling this number)
The vaccine offered at Riverside will be the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, which was approved for use in January by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after an extensive independent review process. In line with new guidance set out by the UK Government and NHS Boards one shot will be given initially, with a second dose after 12 weeks, an approach which will maximise the number of people with some protection at a time when infection rates have increased.