Brian Whittle has urged Nicola Sturgeon to streamline the application process for medics wanting to help in the Covid vaccination programme.
The South Scotland MSP & Scottish Conservative Public Health spokesperson made the request after concerns that the current process is putting people off.
During First Minister’s questions at Holyrood, Brian highlighted the concerns from BMA Scotland and the British Dental Association’s Scottish committee that some of their members had found the process clunky and bureaucratic.
There have also been reports of recently retired medics with decades of experience having their applications held up in payroll systems and specialist nurses being asked for evidence of school exam grades. Some have also questioned the number of training courses volunteers are being asked to take. These include a course on talking to parents about the vaccine, despite the jab not being licenced for use in under-16s.
Responding to Brian’s question the First Minister agreed that everything possible should be done to avoid unnecessary red-tape that could make life more difficult for potential vaccinators.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“There’s no question that anyone applying to be a vaccinator is properly trained and qualified, but that can’t be an excuse for an application process that asks volunteers to jump through unnecessary hoops.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve seen medical students, recently retired doctors and nurses and people working in the wider medical field, like dentists, all stepping up to help out.
As the challenge becomes getting the vaccine into as many people’s arms as quickly as possible, we need to make sure these volunteers are encouraged to come forward, not put off by a difficult administrative process.
I welcome the First Minister’s commitment to making the process as streamlined as possible and hope it will help free us more quickly from the effects of Covid-19.”
