Angmering teacher fears housebound father, 84, could miss out on Covid-19 vaccine

An Angmering teacher has said she fears her housebound father could fall through the cracks after being unable to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
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Carol Ede, 53, acts as a carer for her 84-year-old father Edward, who lives with her in The Walkway, Angmering.

Edward is housebound after recovering from surgery last year and requires Carol’s help for basic mobility.

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He was offered the Covid-19 vaccine at Angmering Medical Centre as a top priority in December, but he and Carol were unable to complete the two-mile hilly journey in his wheelchair.

Edward Ede SUS-211201-163636001Edward Ede SUS-211201-163636001
Edward Ede SUS-211201-163636001

Carol said Edward was put on the ‘housebound list’, but has heard nothing since.

“I think they are assuming that because he is housebound, he is safe because he’s not going out,” she said.

“But nurses are coming in and out and so am I, so he is still exposed.

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“If he got this tantalisingly close to a vaccine but then died, that would make it so much worse.”

When Edward was offered his vaccine on December 13, Carol said she was unaware missing that date would have resulted in a month-long wait.

Had she know, she said, she could have booked a taxi with wheelchair access in advance – an option that was not available at short notice.

Edward is visited by district nurses several times a week, but Carol said she is getting to the point of asking them not come for fear of exposing him to infection.

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She said nobody had been able to tell her when or how her dad could be vaccinated and it was the not knowing that was frustrating.

“Even if they say ‘sorry, it will be a month’, we could manage for a month and make sure he’s protected,” she said.

Carol said she was not criticising the NHS or its staff, but rather raising the issue for people in a similar 
situation.

“There must be lots of people who are housebound with no-one to argue for them who must be so scared,” she added.

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A spokesman for the Sussex Covid-19 vaccination programme said home visits would be arranged for housebound vaccinations.

“It is our priority to roll out this vaccination programme to people across the priority groups as quickly as we can,” said the spokesman.

“We completely understand that there are people who will not be able to travel to a GP led site or a hospital for their vaccination, and for anyone who is housebound we will be arranging a home visit so they can receive this vital protection.

“Vaccination appointments for people who are housebound will start in the coming weeks and teams will be working to arrange these with individuals as quickly as possible.

“We would like to assure everyone that no one has been forgotten and everyone will be contacted as soon as an appointment is available for them.”