A row has emerged over when unpaid carers in Scotland will be vaccinated against covid-19.

One charity has accused the Scottish government of a U-turn after it appeared to backtrack on a pledge that carers would be included in the “first-wave” of vaccinations.

A vaccine stakeholder note highlighted by the BBC stating that ‘carers and their families are not included in the prioritisation list’ has added to the confusion.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman pushed back against the claims, tweeting last night that: ‘unpaid carers will be vaccinated in Scotland. They will be alongside the group with underlying health conditions.

‘We can’t give a definite date for this important group of people because exact dates depend on supplies of vaccine arriving.’

The Scottish government told healthandcare.scot that unpaid carers would be vaccinated as part of the “first phase” of vaccinations at the same time as under-65s who are at additional risk to covid-19 because of a health condition.

A spokesperson said they were following the advice of the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

The confusion stems from Jeane Freeman’s statement to the Scottish Parliament on the 19th November when she suggested unpaid carers would be vaccinated before vulnerable under-65s, not at the same time.

“In the first wave of our plan, from December through to February, we will vaccinate front-line health and social care staff; older residents in care homes and care home staff; all those aged 80 and over; unpaid carers and personal assistants; and those who will be delivering the vaccination programme,” Ms Freeman told MSPs.

“The current interim advice from the JCVI is that we then work through those aged over 65 and those aged under 65 who are at additional clinical risk, followed by the wider population.”

The pledge came after concerns had been raised by the advocacy organisation Kindred – which supports parents of children with complex needs – called on the government to include unpaid carers in the first round of vaccines to avoid the potentially devastating impact of a parent no longer being able to provide complex care for their child if they caught covid-19.

Further details of the priority list for vaccination that emerged over the past few days show government has since performed a U-turn, Kindred says, excluding unpaid carers.

A report published by Kindred last month highlighted many parents of children with exceptional health needs felt they had been left ‘entirely alone’ during the pandemic to provide round the clock care.

Alex Davey is fulltime carer in East Lothian for her six-year-old son, Benjamin, who has complex medical needs including tube-feeding, epilepsy and overnight ventilation.

In a blog she wrote in response to the stakeholder note, Ms Davey says she feels she has been “cruelly misled”:

“My key concern as Benjamin’s mother is that my husband and myself contract covid-19, rendering us incapable of meeting his complex care needs, potentially for a long period of time.

“Early access to the vaccine is therefore imperative to ensure that families like ours can be sure that they can continue to care for their child.

“One can therefore only imagine our joy when we heard that unpaid carers would be among the first wave to receive the vaccine. We cheered, we celebrated, we called each other up and cried tears of pure relief. We were no longer overlooked.

“In fact, we are not just overlooked, we were cruelly misled and our hopes were built up, only to be dashed.

“We cannot understand why the Scottish government has reneged on its commitment and we would urge it to do the honourable thing and honour the original commitment made.”

Kindred director Sophie Pilgrim says the apparent U-turn on unpaid carers is “deeply devastating news” for the families of children with complex needs and life limiting conditions.

A letter from the charity to the Health Secretary states: ‘At this time of national crisis, it seems we are prepared to ignore the plight of our most vulnerable children. These children, with shorter lives, have lost out on therapy, education and social opportunities.

‘Their parents, on whom they are totally dependent, are exhausted to the point of burnout.

‘In Scotland, we pride ourselves in aspiring to be the ‘best country in the world for children to grow up’. We should dare to be different and stand up for our children who are most in need. I urge you to include unpaid carers amongst the first to receive the vaccine.’

A letter from Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer made available on the 7^th December outlines what will be done with the initial ‘limited’ supply of vaccine.

Top of the initial priority groups are care home residents, who will have doses taken to them by the NHS, followed by staff in these homes.

 

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