PEOPLE arriving for pre-booked Covid-19 booster jags faced a wait of up to an hour after confusion over drop-in services at a community hospital.

Dozens of patients queued outside East Lothian Community Hospital in Haddington yesterday (Monday) after turning up for their appointments to find the clinic overwhelmed.

It came as East Lothian Council announced Haddington’s Corn Exchange, which has been closed for three years, was to be turned into a vaccine centre to help cope with demand.

Those arriving at the hospital on Monday faced a wait of more than 30 minutes outside before joining a second queue inside, where the wait was up to another 30 minutes to be vaccinated.

It is understood that the chaos was caused after information online over the weekend told people the hospital was offering drop-in boosters.

The community hospital suspended its drop-in vaccination programme in September as it prepared to focus on flu vaccines and the Covid booster rollout.

Staff at the vaccine clinic attempted to slot those who turned up into the already packed bookings system, sparking delays.

Several elderly and vulnerable residents who arrived for their appointments were brought inside by clinic staff to sit down as the queue outside grew.

One person who had booked their appointment said: “I thought it would be straightforward but when I arrived and saw the queue my heart sank.

“Adding to the confusion was that the sign outside told people that the waiting time was for the ‘drop-in’ clinic when there was no such thing, so people with appointments kept trying to bypass the queue.

“The clinic staff had to keep coming out every few minutes to tell people the queue was for pre-booked appointments and apologise for the situation.”

Two friends who came to the clinic for a drop-in booster said they had seen information on the hospital’s website that they were available.

One said: “The website clearly said drop-in boosters were being offered at the hospital over the weekend, which is why we came.

“I feel sorry for the staff, who are doing their best under so much pressure. We’re grateful they helped us get our booster despite the mix-up.”

Health bosses said that in the last week, from December 7, they had seen 5,383 people at the vaccine centre, with a further 2,061 jabs issued at its Musselburgh Primary Care Centre Covid vaccination centre.

This week, East Lothian Council said it was leasing Haddington’s Corn Exchange to NHS Lothian for a year to allow it to open as a vaccine centre.

The Corn Exchange has been closed for nearly three years after it underwent an £800,000 refurbishment. No public access to see the work undertaken has been given to date.

The council said that work was under way to open it for vaccines as soon as possible.

Krista Clubb, East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership vaccination manager, said of the queues at the hospital: “Our local vaccination team is working incredibly hard to vaccinate as many people as fast as we can.

“The huge number of people attending our clinics has sometimes led to queues and longer wait times, particularly for those attending without an appointment.

“If you have an appointment at East Lothian Community Hospital or Musselburgh Primary Care Centre, please make sure you arrive no more than five minutes before your appointment.

“This will help us to minimise the wait times for everyone and enable our vaccinators to see you as soon as possible.

 “Thank you for your patience while we undertake this enormous programme.”