Arrangements for transporting the elderly to vaccination hubs prompted a heated exchange in the House of Keys.

Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper said some of his constituents are ’genuinely concerned about not being able to access this vaccine simply because they cannot get to the vaccine hubs’.

’Why is the Health Minister absolutely incapable of making sure transport arrangements are easy and vaccine hubs are accessible to everybody?’ he asked.

Mr Hooper said he had been assured that transport would be arranged for elderly people from the north who might struggle to use public transport and cannot afford a taxi.

Instead, he said, the health department had put out a leaflet outlining bus routes to the vaccine hubs.

Mr Hooper said it would take two buses and a three hour round trip from Ramsey to the hub at the airport, which opens today (Thursday).

’Why does he think it acceptable?’ he asked, pointing out many elderly people from the north of the island would not want to travel that far in winter. Mr Hooper queried why ConnectPorts minibuses could not be used as a dedicated transport service.

He told MHKs he had been contacted by one constituent who had been advised to get a taxi when they told the vaccine team that they couldn’t get the bus. ’This is not good enough,’ said Mr Hooper.

Health Minister David Ashford promised this would be investigated. But he insisted appropriate transport was in place and described Mr Hooper’s claims as ’complete and utter nonsense’.

He said people were encouraged to make their own way to the hubs if they possibly can, or by using friends or family to help them with a lift.

Chester Street car park and the airport had been chosen as sites for the hubs as they had easy parking and good access by bus, he said.

’Yes those in the north of the island will have to change bus to get to the airport but we have a good service and helpful drivers,’ he said. ’I realise for some people this will mean a lengthy trip.’

He said the vaccination planning team had always assumed there will be some unable to travel. There will be home vaccination visits for the housebound.

And he said the patient transfer service was an option for those without other means.

He said that there will be a small proportion of the elderly who regularly use patient transfer services and who are unable to arrange public transport or lifts from family and friends.

For these, patient transfer has arranged group transport to the vaccination hubs.

Mr Ashford said a clinical hub would open in Ramsey in mid- to late February for those unable to travel to the main hubs.