The way you will get your flu vaccine this year has changed.

People aged 70 or over will now be sent a letter by the national booking system with details of an appointment at a vaccination centre.

From now on, GP practices will not administer the Flu jab. Across Scotland, Health and Social Care Partnerships are taking on this role in line with the GP Contract agreed by BMA Scotland on behalf of Scottish GPs. This change has been agreed to relieve pressure on GP practices. As a result your local practice will not offer any flu vaccinations or handle any booking queries for people in eligible groups.

Instead, the flu vaccine will be delivered by the four Health and Social Care Partnerships in Lothian – East Lothian; Midlothian; Edinburgh and West Lothian.

If you require further information or you need to rearrange your appointment, please contact the helpline on your appointment invitation or the local enquiry line on:

0300 790 6296

Please do not contact your GP

You can find out more on the websites of the Health and Social Care Partnerships or on NHS Inform

People affected by cancer in East Lothian now have access to a new service that can offer emotional, practical and financial advice and support.

There are two local link workers who can provide advice, information and support on a whole range of non-medical issues related to having a diagnosis of cancer. The service is open to anyone with cancer and their family or carers, at any stage of the illness.  

To get in touch with the Macmillan Improving the Cancer Journey service or find out more call 07977 307 286  or 07929 784315 or email [email protected]  

Please do not contact your GP Practice to ask for a Covid vaccination passport or status certificate – they will not be able to provide any standard document. International certification standards have not yet been agreed.

The Scottish Government is working to support the re-opening of international travel once it is safe to do so. We are working with the other UK Nations and with the World Health Organisation to agree on potential future COVID certification requirements for international travel.

As part of this, we are developing a technical solution that could allow people to access their Covid vaccination status directly.

We would like to reassure all our patients that the proposed extraction of GP data by NHS Digital does NOT include any patients registered with this practice or in NHS Scotland.  NHS Digital provide services in England so are not able to access any data held in Scotland.  You are not required to opt out as your data is already safe.  We take patient confidentially extremely seriously and safeguards are in place to protect this, including when data is used for research.

Further information on how NHS Scotland handles personal information is on NHS  inform website:  How the NHS handles your personal health information / NHS inform.

If you would like to discuss this further, please contact:

Gillian Milligan
Practice Manager

0300-790-6288