Highland MSP urges Health Secretary to bring vaccination services back to local GPs following child’s death
Action must be taken soon to bring back vaccinations into GP practices, a Highland MSP said during a Holyrood debate on rural health last night.
SNP veteran Fergus Ewing urged Health Secretary Neil Gray to make a u-turn on the new GP contract - which forced the removal of vaccination services - after the death of a child in the Highlands this spring was claimed to be linked to the downfalls of the new centralised vaccination system.
This follows a report shared by Beauly GP Dr Ross Jaffrey last week, which highlighted the concerning drop in vaccine uptake in the Highlands after the services were centralised under NHS Highland.
With the debate initiated by Conservative Highland MSP Tim Eagle focusing on how access to healthcare and social services is impacting human rights of remote communities across Scotland, Mr Ewing said urgent action is needed before another death occurs.
He said: “Last spring, an infant in Highland died - no doubt the fatal accident inquiry, as it's appropriate will investigate the circumstances in due course, and the family seeks total privacy and that must be respected.
“But it is the belief of GPs who have been consulting and advising me, notably Dr Alistair Noble and Dr Adrian Baker from Nairn and more recently Dr Ross Jaffrey from Beauly, that this did arise because of the lack of access to vaccinations following the loss of provision of that service by local GPs.
“What has happened is that the GP contract enforced the removal of this service from GPs, despite the fact that three-quarters of GPs in the Highlands had voted against the contract, and now 90 per cent of GP's want it back.
He said that the new system represents a “massive waste of money” as it is believed to cost in excess of £6 million, compared to the £1.5 million GP-led model.
“But the cost isn't as important as the harm,” he continued.
“One of the truly utterly shocking facts about this is that the details of who has and has not received any immunisation, whether it's flu MMR, whooping cough, covid, cannot be shared with GPS.
“The immunisation has been centralised, and the GPS do not know when they see a patient, whether or not the patient has been immunised - particularly children.
“That is leading, as Dr Jaffrey has pointed out in his recent paper, to a drop of the immunization rates.”
Mr Gray said in response: “I have provided clear guidance and authority to NHS Highland to use the flexibility that is contained in the 2018 contract to ensure that, where general practice-led vaccination can take place in order to remove barriers to access to vaccines, it should and can do that.”
That raised the question as to why NHS Highland hasn't restored the service to GPs yet.
He concluded: “What will the cabinet secretary say if another infant’s life is lost because they cannot access life-saving vaccinations for diseases that we thought had gone for ever?”