Local practice manager receives jab as phase 1b rolls out

Redcliffe Parade Family Medical Practice Manager, Shabnam Ali was an early recipient of the COVID-19 vaccine as the Phase 1b rollout began during the final weeks of March.

Mrs Ali, who is also the Business Manager of Anchor Medical, had her first COVID-19 vaccination on Monday 22 March. The rest of the Redcliffe Parade Family Medical Practice team, including doctors and administrative staff, received their jab on Friday 26 March.

Mrs Ali said she was proud that Redcliffe Parade Family Medical Practice could be part of the first week of the phase 1b rollout in the region.

“I was very happy to be the first in the team to get it. It was quite exciting. My nurses were great and my doctor was great—they put me at ease,” she said.

With the phase 1b rollout still in its early days, Redcliffe Parade Family Medical Practice are fully booked for the next four weeks and Ms Ali said the practice had been extremely busy.

“We’re getting calls mainly about COVID vaccination, and patients other than our own are calling and trying to find out the process and when they can book in.

“We‘re asking patients stick to their own GPs if that practice is giving vaccinations—just for continuity of care. If their GPs aren’t offering COVID vaccinations we are able to accommodate them though,” Mrs Ali said.

The upside of being one of the earliest practices in the region to be rolling out phase 1b means that the process is only going to get smoother as time goes on.

Mrs Ali said Redcliffe Parade Family Medical Practice were trialling two styles of COVID vaccination clinic—a lunchtime clinic and an after-hours clinic.

“Over the next few weeks, we’ll have a better understanding of what will work best in terms of workflow,” she said.

With Anchor Medical in operation of six medical centres in North Brisbane, including Eaton Central 7Day Family Practice and McDowall Village Medical Practice, Ms Ali said the wider team of practices would be able to adapt based on the experiences of Redcliffe Parade Family Medical Practice.

“All of the practices will be involved (in the vaccine rollout) and these early vaccinations are a great learning opportunity on how to roll out for the rest of the team,” Mrs Ali said.

As of 6 April 2021, over 841,885 Australians have received a COVID vaccine.

Visit the PHN website to read our FAQs exploring the Phase 1b rollout for both participating and non-participating practices, or to find out more about how to book an appointment to be vaccinated, visit the Queensland Health website.

For more information on Anchor Medical visit amed.com.au.

Dr Haroon Suleman, Shabnam Ali and Nurse Lisa Kehl the team behind the first covid vaccination clinic at Redcliffe parade family medical practice.