By Sammie Jones-
A gran who was forced to cancel her holiday and lose £400 after she couldn’t prove her vaccination status in Scotland despite getting both jabs in England, should be compensated well.
Hazel Freedman is reeling from the fact she lost her deposit due to a computer glitch which meant her covid vaccinations became missing from her NHS Scotland record.
The 73-year-old received both her covid vaccinations at an NHS primary care clinic in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, in January, and March, after lockdown restrictions meant she stayed with her partner in Leeds.
Upon her return to her home in Newton Mearns in East Renfrewshire, she was unable to get the details uploaded onto her NHS Scotland record , making it impossible to obtain a vaccine status certificate, which she needed for the international travel.
The jewellery business woman, who was due to go on a Channel Islands cruise with her partner in August, was forced to cancel , after being unable to provide proof of vaccination in order to board . It also cost her a £400 deposit as a result.
Her details are believed to be linked to paperwork from the Pudsey clinic, not being able to be uploaded to England’s database because her Scottish NHS number was not recognized. The blunder was terrible-a pay out to her is a must.
Her unfortunate experience due to no fault of her makes compensation necessary for her.
Challenges
Her plight is a reminder of some of the challenges that lie ahead for unvaccinated people who want to take a cruise ship somewhere or travel to a country where proof of vaccination is mandatory.
Many travel settings are gradually shifting to a mandatory vaccination requirement , satisfying thousands of travellers who don’t want covid risk takers around them.
However, many critics also see such mandates as an indirect way of forcing people to be vaccinated against their wishes, causing an inevitable two tier society many Mps think is a bad idea for society. There are Mps who also find the requirement of vaccination as proof to many settings as a good idea.
In Hazel’s case, despite being double vaccinated, she suffered huge losses and the motional pain of not nknowing whe next she will be able to see her grandchildren. Compensation for her is a must.
Update
New information received by the practice manager at Hazel’s GP surgery in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, paved the way for her GP record to be updated, but they were still not able to update the database needed for a vaccine certificate.
She has now been advised to get an English GP to resolve the issue, which would result in losing the Scottish doctor she has had for the past 30 years.
Hazel is now confused because she has no idea when she can fly out to Berlin to visit her three grandchildren.
Hazel said: “The cruise liner won’t let me on with what I’ve got.
“What was suggested was that I get an NHS England GP instead, losing my Scottish doctor that I’ve had for more than 30 years, and then a couple of months down the line from that they’ll get me an NHS England number and upload the vaccine information that way.
“That’s ridiculous.
“I end up bursting into tears every so often because I have three grandchildren, they all live in Berlin, they’re all under 12, and I can’t get to see them.
“So I’m still no further on.”