Agenda item

Report of the Principal Adviser for Commissioning Early Years Immunisation and Vaccination Services

4.1       The Committee received a report by Dr Catherine Heffernan, the Principal Advisor for Commissioning Early Years, Immunisations and Vaccination Services, NHS England, on rates of vaccinations in Westminster. The Committee heard that, for example, Westminster’s uptake of vaccinations at age 5 was at around 60%, which is below WHO recommended uptake levels of 95%. The Committee also heard that rates of childhood immunisation had dropped due to Covid-19 but that as of 1 September, the rates had recovered. Dr Heffernan advised the Committee of the work being undertaken to target and address health inequalities and the work with partner organisations such as local authorities, the CCGs and the GLAs, to ensure that there were sufficient workforce, capacity and stocks. Dr Heffernan also described how innovative measures were being used by GP practices to see patients.

4.2       The Committee was provided with further detail specific to Westminster by Lucy Rumbellow (Immunisation Commissioning Manager, NHS England. The Committee heard from Lucy Rumbellow about the work being done within Westminster looking at individual wards and observed that affluent areas had lower uptakes, which could be explained by foreign residents and private GP practices. The Committee also heard how, there had not been the level of outbreaks that might have been expected given the vaccination rates.    

4.3       The Committee raised concerns about the implications of and uncertainty arising from the government’s announcement in July that Public Health England would be disbanded. The Committee was advised about the complex commissioning environment which existed and the unknowns concerning the situation post-Public Health England. The Committee also discussed the robustness and accuracy of data concerning vaccination uptake, how NHSE worked with the local authority to map uptake at ward level, communications to counter “anti-vax” messaging, and how any vaccine developed to counter Covid-19 would be delivered outside the standard immunisation programme.

4.4       Dr Heffernan advised that during Covid-19, it had become possible to obtain more timely data with the result that information was usually available one to two weeks after vaccination. Lucy Rumbellow advised the Committee that there was mitigation against hesitancy or refusal through work with school teams and a year-round clinic, as well as through granular and blanket level communications. The Committee raised concerns that levels of vaccination in Westminster had been consistently low and there appeared to have been little progress over the last ten years. The Committee also raised the suggestion that using health visitors to administer the vaccinations might be a solution. Dr Heffernan advised that London rates had remained stable, that health visitors had in the past given vaccines, however that health visitors were commissioned by local authorities, not NHSE. Dr Heffernan also raised acute issues such as not being able to proceed with commissioning initiatives in September in addition to chronic issues such as population turnover and complexity of data. Natalia Clifford observed that pilot schemes by NHSE and PHE had been done elsewhere and that Westminster would welcome being the locus of a pilot scheme.

4.4       RESOLVED: That the Committee note the contents of the report, continue to monitor and invite NHSE to return to present an update.

4.5       ACTION: The Committee to write to local MPs, advise the Chief Executive and the Leader of the discussions at the committee meeting and NHSE to be invited to return to a future meeting to provide a further update (to be added to the work programme).