Jenner Health Centre Closing Carpark for Vaccinations

Hi All,

I’ve just recieved a text from the Jenner Health Centre advising that they are going to start running a COVID vaccination clinic (great news!). However as part of this they are closing their carpark (vaccinations will not take place in the carpark) and are asking patients to park on neighbouring streets.

We live on St Germans Road and already struggle with cars using this as a cut through from Brockley Rise to the South Circular, and already have cheeky drivers who sometimes block access to our drive. I can only imagine this will make the issue worse.

Does anyone have any ideas of who we could speak to about this? There has been no consultation with neighbouring roads and no advance notice until now.

Thanks in advance!

I don’t recall that COVID19 consulted widely before it arrived.

In fairness the message says please allow enough time to find parking on surrounding roads.

Their main concern will be ensuring people are there on time for their vaccinations as this is a numbers game they will want a queue and but not people turning up late and to get through as many as possible each day - suspect parking is fairly low on their agenda.

Not sure who you could speak to really, or more to the point what could be done? I think it might be a grin a bare it type scenario which I know is not the answer you are looking for.

As an aside blue badge holders can still park in the car park.

Slightly aside, but relevant to the Jenner, from https://www.jennerpractice.co.uk/

A positive step forward.

Hey David,

Sorry if I’ve come across in a way that wasn’t intended. Im totally in support of getting the vaccines rolled out and think it’s a great step forward.

You are probably right, just concerned about the impact and how long it will go on for. To reiterate I think its a great step in the right direction, just hoping there might be some way to discourage people from using all of the local roads as parking for the surgery on an ongoing basis.

Don’t worry @Ruthydoo, some of us understand your concerns are about traffic/parking and not a complaint about using the Jenner as a vaccination centre.

Unfortunately St German’s Road is going to be the obvious first choice when trying to find a parking spot. I’m not sure what else the Jenner can do, other than perhaps make clear that patients may need to park some distance away and allow (say) at least 15 minutes to find a parking space and walk to the clinic. Or to walk if they live nearby.

A lot depends on how big the catchment area is - they might be coming from miles away and don’t know the area. From local knowledge I would probably suggest parking in Colfe/Kilmorie/Elsinore.

I wonder if they’re going to use the car park for queuing?

If St William of York or the other nearby education centre are closed, could their car parks be used?

From Google Street View it looks like there’s parking for up to 10 cars in front of St William of York school in Brockley Park and there doesn’t appear to be a gate. Does anyone know if local people are already parked there?

The adult education centre on the corner of Brockley Rise and Brockley Park has car parking but it’s gated and would require a caretaker to unlock/lock the gates, so I think that’s a no-go.

The car park at St William of York is used by teachers and other school staff. As it must still be open - for children of keyworkers and vulnerable children - I would guess that there will be few spaces available there.

The queue was giant today! I’m glad to see people getting the vaccination as London is so vulnerable to spreading the new strains.

Keeping these ‘at risk’ people out in the cold whilst waiting seems dangerous- is there anything we can do for then?

Obviously offering the usual cups of tea is off the cards.

The Jenner queue was on the BBC1 10pm news!

It’s problematic. My mother had her vaccination yesterday in my hometown and they were queuing outside. When she got inside and they were taking her temperature it was too low to register on the thermometer! And the queue was much longer when she left. I completely appreciate how hard it is for the surgeries and we are incredibly grateful that my parents practice has already done both vaccinations at the 3 week interval but I do worry about very vulnerable people out in the cold. Perhaps they could do the injections in closed pubs that have patio heaters!

Brewdog’s team have offered up their venues nationwide as vaccination centres. They say they have the space, and refrigeration, and are willing to help with support staff. And immediately they were torn down on Twitter for attempting to use Covid as a marketing ploy. Damned if you try to help, damned if you don’t!

What a shame. Could have been a good option.

I’m horrified by twitter at the moment. Have deleted it from my devices! Too negative and confrontational!

Being outdoors is better to prevent the spread of Covid, and I guess with social distancing even a short queue takes up a lot of space.

Other than advice to wrap up warm, arrive on time and take a thermos, I can’t see an easy solution to this one.

That said, when I got a flu-jab late last year the whole thing was so streamlined that I only had to wait a couple of minutes, so maybe that’s the aim.

I do like the idea of vaccination in a pub though - perhaps grab a hot toddy on the way out!

Quite a queue outside FH Post Office this morning too… it’s not just the Jenner (though I guess people making ASOS returns are more there by their own choice!)

Nevermind extra parking in St German’s Road, people were actually queuing in St German’s Road! There’s a link to a video of the queue in this article:

Take your own chair would be my advice. And an umbrella - it’s due to rain next week.

Wowsers, that is terrible. They must improve that situation.

No queue there this morning, but perhaps they aren’t vaccinating yet or at weekends?

My 90 year old FiL has had his second jab. He was expecting a queue and got one. Like many sensible older people he had prepared for that, had a warm coat, hat and gloves and had taken his book.

I am sure better facilities would be great, but there’s are unusual times and I am meeting none of the elderly getting the vaccine would have been complaining that much.

Maybe as time goes by improvements will be made but I am pretty sure most vaccine hubs are more interested in getting the vaccine distributed than ensuring the comfort of the vaccinated.

Wrap up warm!

It’s not just a question of comfort though. It’s a question of the health risk of standing, in potentially subzero temperatures for 3 hours when you are in your 80s and 90s. No matter how well you wrap up you could still be at risk of hypothermia if you are just sitting or standing Still. Unless you are a very fit 90 year old who is doing star jumps in the queue!!

I agree though that it’s really difficult and the surgeries that are rolling out are doing amazingly and I’m v grateful to my parents surgery. And as I’m under 50 I’ve got plenty of time to get some good thermal layers and to practise my star jumps for when it’s my turn, probably next winter

Would it not be best to give people specific time slots to reduce the queues?!

That’s crazy considering the age group involved. They should be able to mange things better than that or someone has seriously underestimated how long it would take for each patient to be vaccinated.

I’m not in any of the age groups that the government want vaccinated by mid February although should be in the next group but with arthritis in both knees I wouldn’t be able to stand in a queue for more than 30 minutes let alone 3 hours in any temperature!

Does anyone know if it was just the Jenner’s patients that were being done or has the Jenner been selected as the local vaccination hub?

My Dad, not in this borough, has had 2 jabs of the vaccine, but he had the Pfizer one.

I expect Jenner got the Oxford one so less pressure on getting people in accurately and more leeway with the vaccine. However my Dad for his second jab said as he was leaving there was harly anyone waiting for the jab, which I guess is the other side you don’t want.

I would hope they will learn from this, as that time is too long to wait and hopefully they will allocate via slots better (my Dad had an actual specific time both times). I suspect they decided to go 100% for it first day due to the current situation, whereas normally you;d have more of a trial run over a week with lots of gaps where you could learn.

They said a couple of days ago that they were planning on delivering 1100 jabs over 12 hours on Friday and to do all of the over 80s. Some teething issues clearly but I applaud their efforts.

I volunteered yesterday and it was the Pfizer vaccination

And we achieved that

That is amazing. Superb effort!

Thanks for volunteering, that’s an amazing amount.

Interesting - my assumption was wrong!

Well done for volunteering, great stuff

My parents waited 2 hours in a busy waiting room for their vaccines at Dulwich Hospital, even though they had a time slot.
Grateful for their vaccines obviously but worry some risk of people picking infection up in such a situation.
Hopefully improve as more centres open.

To be vaccinated, or administer jabs?

I would have thought local surgeries would have space to organise safely at Bell Green car park.

Amazing!!! well done

To assist with the post-vaccination process

There’s a statement from NHS Lewisham in a series of Tweets about the queuing:

image1497×1721 419 KB

This matches the experience of an elderly friend who queued for an hour an a half. They said the staff were brilliant and thought the problem was folks arriving much too early, with carers (adding one or two more people to the queue per patient), and being slow to sign consent forms and verify medical history prior the vaccine being administered. I should add they they weren’t blaming anyone and thought the problems would be easily fixed and the reporting was unfair.

It is easy to overlook just how incredible this is with thousands of people receiving the vaccination at the Jenner in a day. This was the fastest developed vaccine in history and is now being delivered for free to millions of people in the biggest ever vaccination program.

700 people volunteered to be stewards in the five vaccination centres in Lewisham. And they were very helpful to those queueing.

It isn’t good to keep old people queueing in the cold on the first day, but that’s much better than most of the problems in 2020, and good to hear they sorted it out within the day.

Most of all I’m pleased that my parents were in that queue and as a result they are now vaccinated.

Brilliantly out Michael.

Had my jab at the Jenner this afternoon. Arrived at 15:12pm for a 15:15 appointment and was away at 15:28, including a 15 minute wait after the injection to allow for any immediate serious allergic reactions.
Jenner had asked patients not to arrive more than 5 minutes early and this seems to have worked in reducing the queue. The operation was well-staffed with professionals and volunteers, friendly and efficient. Incidentally they had vaccinated 900 people on Friday, which is 900 people who, in a week to 10 days time, will be at much less risk from the coronavirus.
We are in a war with this virus and a few initial teething troubles may just be part of the ‘fog of war’. And in terms of waiting during a war, I’ll tell you sometime about my father’s 72 hour wait to be picked up from the beaches at Dunkirk.
So, I would say well done the Jenner!

Sorry I was away at 15:38 not 15:28. Still brilliant.

Good stuff David and well done again to everyone involved at the Jenner.