Fraser Health announced on Thursday that it is replacing the drive-through COVID-19 vaccination and testing site on Boundary Road in Burnaby with a new one.
That’s good news for Liza A. after her “crazy” experience trying to get her elderly mom vaccinated there recently.
It took more than two hours and included little help from the site staff, she said.
“We drove south on Boundary … saw the crazy lineup, then pulled a U-turn to get into the line-up which pretty much started at Imperial,” she said. “We arrived 10 minutes before the stated time as requested. As we painfully inched forward, we saw the time approach my mom’s 12:55 appointment, then blew by that time, worried that we would be turned away. There was no signage or person to let us know that this was indeed the proper line-up, and no one to let us know that missing the appointment time would be OK. As we approached the main entrance on Boundary and 46 after about 2 hours, a person in a vest let us know that it was OK we missed our appointment time, which was a huge relief. I told him more staff or signage was needed further down in the lineup of cars to reassure people that they were in the correct line and that all appointments that day would be respected regardless of the delays.”
The whole issue of getting vaccinated is difficult enough, but this added stress is ridiculous. I’ve received multiple messages from people saying the situation is unacceptable.
One reader called it a “gong show.”
Apparently, Fraser Health has received an earful about it and is moving the site to BCIT on April 19 because it can accommodate 10 lanes instead of six at Central Park.
“We have heard concerns regarding traffic congestion and wait times due to the layout of our existing site, and relocating our existing centre to the BCIT campus will address these issues,” said Fraser Health in a news release.
“The layout of the new site will ensure patients can access services easier through phases three and four as we work to immunize our communities over the coming months. As we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in our region, it is important that we respond to the growing needs of our communities and ensure our services are easy to access and scalable as needed.”
It’s too bad it took this long to get the situation addressed.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
