A vulnerable Fife patient has been targeted by a scammer dressed in full PPE trying to gain access to their home, it has been claimed.
Police Scotland has been alerted to the recent incident in the Kingdom in which it has been alleged an individual arrived at a pensioner’s home claiming they were there to administer the Covid-19 vaccine.
Very few details about the altercation have been divulged so far, but it is understood the householder refused entry to the person and contacted their local GP, who in turn contacted police.
The shocking claim comes amid growing concerns about the number of Covid-19 scams currently in operation, and follows a similar incident south of the border where a 92-year-old woman was allegedly tricked out of £160 for a fake coronavirus vaccination.
A 33-year-old man has denied five offences relating to that incident in London, including assault, fraud and going outside in a Tier 4 area without a good reason, and is due to appear again before magistrates this Friday.
The Fife incident has been highlighted by staff at Tayview Medical Practice, which has surgeries in both Newport-on-Tay and Tayport, who have stressed that nobody should be expecting vaccination in their own home at this time.
David Ramsay, business manager, revealed he had been made aware of a patient within Fife being approached at home by a person wearing protection equipment and explaining they had arrived to provide the Covid-19 jag.
“Thankfully, the patient did not let the person into their home and contacted their GP practice who have, in turn, informed Police Scotland,” he noted.
“Currently, all vaccinations are either being provided at GP practices for anyone aged 80 and over or at a vaccination centre for those aged under 80 years.
“NHS Fife are currently developing plans for the vaccination of housebound patients and I will provide further information via our practice website regarding the process for housebound patients once I have been informed by NHS Fife.
“In the meantime, I ask our patient population to be vigilant and aware of such scams.
“All invitations for those under 80 years of age are being done by letter and all patients aged 80 and over are being contacted by the practice by telephone with appointments being delivered at our Newport practice.”
GPs across Tayside and Fife have also had to remind patients about scam e-mails which are inviting recipients to click on a link to either arrange an appointment or decline an appointment.
While the format of the email is professional in nature and appears to have been sent by the NHS, the e-mails are fraudulent and could allow scammers to access important computer files if the links are clicked on.
NHS Fife has stressed that all patients invited to attend for a Covid vaccination within the region will receive an invitation by post, with no invitations going out by e-mail.
Meanwhile, Tayview Medical Practice has apologised to patients after its main telephone line was rendered out of use due to a fault.
British Telecom says it has classified the fault as a major system outage and is trying to fix it as a matter of priority.
Calls to the practice on 01382 543251 are being diverted to the practice mobile, although staff only have the use of one line instead of eight.
“This fault continues to remain outwith the control of the practice and we apologise for any inconvenience caused,” a spokesman added.
“BT have assured us that they are working on the fault as quickly as possible.”
