Patient Denied MMR Vaccination
Despite guidance from the NHS and Public Health clearly stating that adults who have not received the vaccination are entitled to the free jab, this surgery told Healthwatch Hertfordshire’s caller that as they was an adult they would have to pay for it. They also said that free vaccination funding was only available to children under the age of 16 or in the case of a county-wide epidemic.
Simply put, this is not the case. With a recent outbreak of measles in Birmingham, it’s vital to remember that this is a highly contagious virus that still affects about 20 million people a year. No other vaccine-preventable disease causes as many deaths world-wide.
After some investigation and work by the Healthwatch Hertfordshire team, the GP Surgery did eventually agree that the patient was entitled to a free vaccination.
It’s important that the public are getting the right information from the people they trust to inform them. GP surgeries have so much information being sent to them on a daily basis we understand that keeping track of policies can be hard. But immunisation from a potentially deadly virus is vital. We’re really glad that in this case we’ve been able to help.
If you have been denied the MMR vaccination, think you are eligible and want to tell us about your experience contact us now.
