Pre-school vaccination uptake targets missed

The National Audit Office has claimed that NHS England missed the Department of Health and Social Care’s performance standard for the uptake of nearly all pre-school vaccinations in England last year.

Uptake of nearly all pre-school vaccinations has declined since 2012-13 and in 2019 the World Health Organization withdrew the UK’s measles elimination status. The report has argued that the system for reminding parents to have their children vaccinated within the NHS is ‘inconsistent’ and making an appointment can be difficult.

In July 2019, Public Health England estimated that around 90,000 children in England had not had both doses of MMR at the age of five. Current levels of uptake of the second dose of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccination (MMR) are 86.4 per cent, below the 95 per cent recommended by the World Health Organization to give herd immunity. This is despite a survey this year finding that 95 per cent of parents said they had confidence in vaccinations and only three per cent had refused one or more vaccine.

Following the abolishing of primary care trusts in 2013, NHS England took responsibility for commissioning call/recall, the current process for contacting parents about vaccinating their children. However, it has not set out the requirements of GPs for call/recall under the new arrangements, w which has undoubtedly led to inconsistencies in how the system works in different parts of the country.

Furthermore, the NAO stresses that some parents have reported finding it difficult to access vaccination services due to the timing and availability of appointments. There are also communities which are ‘under-served’ when it comes to healthcare, such as travellers, which may also affect their vaccination rates.