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05
Nov 2019
‘Inconsistent’ children’s vaccine reminder system
A report on vaccine uptake in England has concluded that the NHS system for reminding parents to have their children vaccinated is ‘inconsistent’ and making an appointment can be difficult, adding that there should be a greater push to identify underserved and vulnerable groups.
In the last seven years, there has been a reduction in update of nearly all pre-school vaccinations, such as MMR, and NHS England have said they are bringing health professionals together in an attempt to take action.
Although the government target is for a vaccination update of 95%, last year only 86.4% received the second dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine by the age of five, and only 84.8% received the four-in-one pre-school booster.
The report found that there were problems with ‘no coherent system’ and ‘inconsistencies’ across the country with regard to how parents were contacted and re-contacted about booking vaccine appointments.
The report added that there was also no consistent national approach by Public Health England and NHS England on the engagement of “under-served” groups, such as recent migrants, some religious faith groups and travellers, the percentages of vaccinated children within which are often lower than average.
The National Audit report’s author Ashhey McDougall, said that practical steps can be taken by the government to improve the situation, adding “These include sending out proper invitations to parents and re-inviting them when needed, as well as allowing parents to book convenient appointments with their families.”
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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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