On Saturday the PSNI’s traffic and travel division had to urge motorists away from the town, such was the extent of the gridlock.  

“There’s traffic congestion in Lisnaskea at the minute due to large numbers of people attending a vaccination clinic at the health centre,” a spokesman stated around lunchtime.

“Motorists who aren’t attending the clinic should avoid the area at present,”  the police said.

While many in the town commented on how the gridlock was a result of inconsiderate parking by motorists, something they felt the presence of traffic wardens could help prevent, others pointed to the poor parking facilities at Maple Health Centre. 

One local woman, who didn’t want to be named, was unimpressed with the organisation of the event over all. 

“Patients were queued out the door, elderly and children. 

“Patients were queued to the gates,” she said.

Cllr Victor Warrington, who receives the flu vaccine every year and is due to get his next week, said he did not feel the issue was with the how the vaccine distribution had been organised, but with the health facilities available in Lisnaskea.  

“They basically produced a timetable this year and all the patients are in alphabetical order. 

“The flu jab is a 30 second job, so obviously they had several nurses on doing them. I agree with that strategy,” he explained.

“I heard it was like a cattle mart on Saturday. It goes back to our fight for a new health centre. 

“Everything is in place in Lisnaskea for a new centre, it is crying out for a new area that can cope with the infrastructure of something like that. 

“It’s diabolical. Whenever it was built it wasn’t built for the huge numbers it has to deal with. 

“I don’t know what it was built for, but it wasn’t for the 16,000 patients it currently has. 

“They’re coming from Roslea, they’re coming fro Newtownbutler, they’re coming from Maguiresbridge. It’s unreal,” he added.