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NHS Highland set to review vaccine delivery model with partial return to GP practices





Vaccinations in the Highlands are set to partially return to be delivered by GP practices, it has been announced.

Vaccine. Picture: iStock
Vaccine. Picture: iStock

In January, it was confirmed that vaccine delivery would move from the current health-board exclusive model to allow for greater flexibility in delivering vaccinations in rural areas.

This comes after campaigners pressured the Scottish Government to make a u-turn on the health board-led service introduced in 2023 amidst concerns over falling vaccine uptake and increasing costs.

According to NHS Highland board meeting papers, an update from chief executive Fiona Davies stated that on January 21 the Scottish Government gave the health board green light to progress with the recommendations in the vaccination improvement Options Appraisal submitted by the Highland Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP).

Ms Davies wrote: “This means we can use local flexibility to deliver vaccinations in the Highland Council area, including commissioning GP practices where agreed and appropriate.

“The proposal is to return childhood (preschool) vaccinations to a GP delivery model, retain maternal and school-age vaccinations as board delivered, and develop a hybrid model for adult vaccinations.

“The exact models are yet to be developed and agreed. This will require a robust implementation plan, agreed with input from stakeholders, including GPs, Public Health Scotland, our own teams and, of course, those people eligible to be vaccinated.

“We expect this plan to be developed in the next two months. Meanwhile, we are now in the later stages of the 2024-25 winter vaccination programme, with a number of clinics moving to drop-in status. Shingles and pneumococcal vaccinations are starting this month.”

This move was welcomed by many, including Highlands and Islands MSP Edward Mountain who spoke out after he received a letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray last week.

The letter confirmed that the Cabinet Secretary had given his ‘approval for NHS Highland to develop a mixed model of vaccine delivery’, with GPs delivering some vaccinations. Neil Gray clarified that this approval has been given ‘as an exception because of the challenges faced.’

Edward Mountain highlighted that this move should have been made a long time ago, given the unique healthcare needs of the remote Highlands.

Edward Mountain MSP at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
Edward Mountain MSP at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

He said: “I am delighted that the Scottish Government and NHS Highland have agreed this change in vaccination delivery.

“I have been campaigning for the adoption of a mixed model of delivery since 2022, and so am pleased that my meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in December proved productive.

“The Highlands often have different healthcare needs from the rest of Scotland, but the Central Belt bias of the Government frequently prevents these needs from being met.

“Allowing GPs to deliver vaccinations will remove pressure from other NHS services, as well as hopefully improving vaccination uptake and cover in the Highlands.

“It is a shame that this has taken so long.”


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