Cornwall is leading the way with mass vaccine booking service

Royal Cornwall Hospital is using this new service to manage tens of thousands of bookings with thousands of vaccinations already delivered.

VDT is a new service that helps NHS Trusts and supporting organisations manage the delivery of mass vaccination. Developed by Cornwall-based software company Tango3 Ltd, in partnership with Cornwall Council, Kernow Health CCG and Royal Cornwall Hospital Truro, VDT provides online tools to manage appointment schedules, complete online bookings and record attendance.

The service was road tested in Autumn 2020 as part of the Flu Vaccine Drive Thru project in Cornwall, managing bookings for 14,000 flu vaccines across 2 sites. With the roll out of the Covid Vaccination, the system has been updated to meet the two dose requirements and went live for Covid bookings in early December 2020. The vaccination hub at the Royal Cornwall Hospital Truro is using the service to manage tens of thousands of bookings with thousands of vaccinations already delivered.

Project lead for COVID 19 Staff vaccination at RCHT, Simon Long, said “Without the booking system we could never have ramped up delivery so quickly, the support from the Tango3 team has been excellent, keeping the system updated with the latest requirements from the Government.”

The service provides the tools for the vaccination centres to set up their booking schedule including limiting time slots to particular employees or groups, monitor engagement and support a call centre to assist referrals. It also makes accurate data reporting simple.

Employers are provided with web links that they share with their staff, allowing them to access the system and book appointments that are convenient to them. No apps to install, just a clean, modern web site. Where more than one dose is required, as with Covid, both appointments are booked at the same time. The employee has the flexibility to amend their bookings at any time, whilst the system ensures that their bookings are still compliant with the vaccination requirements.

The system can also be used by GPs, who can send out single-use links to patients. At the vaccination centre, the service provides a facility to check patients in and if required, details of the vaccine used and vaccinator can also be logged. Where patients do not attend, automated follow up emails are sent, cancelling future appointments and requesting that the employee or patient rebook.

Mike Trebilcock, director of Tango3, said “The enormity of the Covid vaccination programme requires tools that are built for scale, Excel or pen and paper are not going to provide this.

Working closely with local partners we’ve honed and tested the system to meet this need, whilst also being simple to understand and use by staff, employees and patients. We’d love to play our part in helping to get the country out of the pandemic and support the delivery of the vaccine.”