Proposal for pan-London programme to boost MMR rates
Dr Simon Tanner, Regional Director of Public Health London, told the Assembly’s Health and Public Services Committee that the proposal would mean that some of the specific funding given to each London Primary Care Trust this year to increase MMR rates, would instead be pooled in order to target the most needy areas. PCT Chief Executives will consider the proposal tomorrow.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Areas with the lowest MMR1 rates could receive an extra boost if a proposal to implement a pan-London immunisation programme gets the go-ahead, the London Assembly heard today.
Dr Simon Tanner, Regional Director of Public Health London, told the Assembly’s Health and Public Services Committee that the proposal would mean that some of the specific funding given to each London Primary Care Trust this year to increase MMR rates, would instead be pooled in order to target the most needy areas. PCT Chief Executives will consider the proposal tomorrow.
The Committee heard that the money could be used to provide a central source for guidance and knowledge and to target areas where immunisation rates are the lowest. Dr Tanner said he was hopeful that the PCTs would agree the proposal as there was a general recognition that there should be a shared resource.
In August this year, every PCT in London received £60,000 from the Department of Health, regardless of need and MMR vaccination rates. However, there is a wide variation in immunisation rates across London. Less than a month ago, figures from the NHS revealed that in 2007/08, only 39 percent of children in Greenwich had the MMR vaccine and booster by their fifth birthday, whereas Kingston PCT had given the vaccination and booster to 76 percent.
London is at high risk of a measles epidemic because it has the lowest uptake of the MMR vaccine in the country, coupled wit the fact that measles is a very contagious disease. There were 561 confirmed cases of measles in London between January and August 2008.2
James Cleverly AM, Chair of the London Assembly Health and Public Services Committee, said: “We were pleased to hear about the proposal for a London-wide co-coordinated programme to boost immunisation rates and we are keen to see if it is agreed.
“Measles is a very serious disease, with one in four infected people ending up in hospital. Yet, it is preventable disease, so everything possible must be done to boost immunisation rates to a level that will ensure population immunity.”
Notes to Editors
1. Measles, Mumps and Rubella 2. Figures from Health Protection Agency: www.hpa.org.uk 3. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
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