Health visitors to offer childhood vaccines to families who have not taken up GP offer

Health visitors are set to offer vaccinations to children who have not taken up the offer from a GP practice, as part of a one-year pilot programme.

The Government has unveiled plans for a £2m pilot where health visitors will work to reach families facing barriers to vaccines.

Under the initiative, also mentioned in last year’s urgent and emergency care plan, health visitors across five areas of England will offer vaccinations during routine visits to families who have not taken up vaccinations via their GP practice.

The programme, due to start in mid-January, will target families who have ‘fallen through the cracks’, the government said, including those including those not signed up with a GP, struggling with travel costs, childcare juggling, language barriers or other tough circumstances that prevent them reaching vaccinations at a GP practice.

Families will be identified by the NHS using GP records, health visitor notes and local databases.

And health visitors on the pilot will be given extra training to tackle tricky conversations with parents and to give vaccinations safely.

There will be 12 pilots rolled out from mid-January across five regions of England, including: London, the Midlands, North East and Yorkshire, North West, and South West.

The Government stressed the scheme was not designed to replace GP practices and that families should continue to get vaccinated there first, the pilot ‘supports families with children who’d otherwise slip through the net’.

It added that the year-long trial will be evaluated before being rolled out across the country from 2027.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting, said: ‘Every parent deserves the chance to protect their child from preventable diseases, but some families have a lot going on and that can mean they miss out.

‘Health visitors are already trusted faces in communities across the country. By allowing them to offer vaccinations, we’re using the relationships and expertise that already exist to reach families who need support most.

‘Fixing the NHS means tackling health inequalities head-on. By meeting families where they are, we’re not just boosting vaccination rates – we’re building a health service that works for everyone.’

It comes as GP practices will deliver chickenpox vaccinations as part of the childhood immunisation programme, starting today.

From today, GP practices will start to offer a combined MMRV vaccine at 12 months and 18 months of age to add chickenpox (varicella) to the protections against measles, mumps and rubella.

NHS England said the initiative would see ‘hundreds of thousands’ of families with young children be offered protection against chickenpox and that it is expected to save the NHS £15m a year in costs for treating the condition.

Dr Claire Fuller, national medical director for NHS England, said: ‘This is a hugely positive moment for children and their families, providing protection against chickenpox for the first time and adding to the arsenal of routine vaccinations we give to children to safeguard them against serious illnesses.’

A version of this article was first published by Pulse’s sister title Nursing in Practice