Vulnerable Sussex pensioner still waiting for Covid and flu jabs despite hospital stays

Margaret Cottee, 88, was taken to Worthing Hospital last month after suffering falls at home. After being treated for nearly four weeks, she was discharged and went. But she had to return to hospital soon after, having suffered another two falls.

Requests from Margaret’s son, Mike, for her to be given her Covid-19 and flu jabs while in hospital were turned down because the ‘budget was held by her GP’ and the hospital did not have access to the vaccination database. Mike said he was told it was not possible for a nurse to be sent to the hospital to administer the jabs.

He said: “Clearly, my mum was in a high-risk environment and should have been given the protection that both the government and NHS advises everyone should have. I was advised to contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) at the hospital. They spoke with the management who advised they do not do this for anyone in such circumstances.

"The NHS say you must get this protection for your own good and to help protect the NHS. Then you get a high-risk patient in a high-risk environment, and you can't get the protection. It's ludicrous. It's a shocking situation, and one that will apply to others.”

Vikesh Gudka, clinical commissioning pharmacist at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Worthing Hospital, said: “The NHS has run the largest vaccination programme in its history that includes a huge network of GP surgeries and community facilities, offering protection against Covid-19 in a convenient and local setting, 52 weeks a year.

“While our hospitals are not part of that programme, and only able to vaccinate some of our patients who are with us for very long periods, we do urge everyone who is eligible to take the opportunity to keep themselves and others safe.”

Within 48 hours of returning to Worthing Hospital, Margaret was transferred to Zachary Merton Hospital in Rustington for rehabilitation.

Two weeks later, she is still waiting for jabs – despite testing positive for RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), on top of the chest infection and heart condition she was already being treated for.

Mike said: “I first asked about her getting the jabs [at Zachary Merton] on December 1 and again on December 7. I was told they weren't sure if they could arrange the Covid jab but also said they don't do flu jabs. It's all a bit of a nightmare.”

The Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust runs Zachary Merton Hospital. A spokesperson for the trust said: “When a patient is admitted to one of our intermediate care units we talk to them about whether they have had their Covid-19 booster and flu vaccination. If they have not been vaccinated but wish to be, we can arrange for our immunisation service to visit them. All our patients are kept under regular review and can ask to be vaccinated at any point during their stay on our wards.”