South West London CCG Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21

Services, has brought together a task and finish group to support uptake amongst our communities throughout the Covid-19 vaccination programme. Lead clinicians, including Dr Agnelo Fernandes, Rachel Flowers, Director of Public Health, Dr Dev Malhotra and Dr Neil Goulbourne, meet together with Cllr Janet Campbell and community and voluntary leaders and the Croydon communications and engagement network to plan together interventions that will help increase confidence in the vaccine. As we move forward with the vaccine programme, we are keen to adapt further to better ensure any variation in uptake amongst our communities is based on individuals being able to make an informed decision. Together the group has a systematic approach to optimise uptake, coordinated through a dedicated Croydon wide task and finish group hosted by the Local Strategic Partnership. Croydon virtual health network Our virtual health network of nearly 500 local residents and voluntary sector representatives has supported the informing element of our engagement, sharing our weekly vaccination updates with more than 20,000 local people. We include information about engagement events coming up and invite people to recommend community groups wishing to talk to us, as well as inviting feedback on the messaging itself. As a result of feedback, we now include bulleted highlights at the top of each email for those who may not be able or want to read the whole update. Merton Improving vaccination process for people with a visual impairment We delivered an online engagement session with individuals who have a visual impairment and Merton Vision staff members, to help inform the vaccination programme approach for this cohort of people. Merton Vision have a directory and expressed they were happy to help support the vaccination programme. What we heard: • Concern about the consistent use of communication preferences. People get fearful of the change and miscommunication. • It is ideal for patients to attend a more familiar setting. • Some vaccination centres and GP reception staff have been unhelpful in supporting booking the vaccination. • It’s hard to type in all of your details and locate different information like your NHS number. There needs to be a more accessible way of booking the vaccination. • The purpose of the vaccination card is not being clearly explained. • Concern about individuals with a visual impairment missing appointments. What we did: Following the session, large print leaflets and posters were made available at the site. The management team organised a volunteer 68 | NHS South West London Clinical Commissioning Group