Sutton parents need to ensure their children are immunised, as for many childhood immunisation programmes the figures for Sutton and Merton are the lowest in the country.
At the Sutton Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on June 10 a report was received on the Public Health Outcome Framework. This Framework includes the national statistics for immunisation and shows that the official statistics for Sutton and Merton for a large number of childhood immunisations are the lowest in the country.
Dr Ellis Friedman, the recently appointed Director of Public Health commented: “The recorded childhood immunisation rates locally appear to pose a significant risk to the health of the population. However the number of cases of infection amongst residents has been relatively low in the past few years.
“This could reflect luck or that some immunised children are not officially recorded therefore leading to an overestimate of the risk to the health of the population. I have as a matter of urgency, reviewed the accuracy of the immunisation records in Sutton. It is clear that the information systems are poor with many immunisations known to GPs not being on the central record.
“It therefore seems certain that the Sutton population has more protection against childhood infections than would be deduced from the low recorded immunisation rates.
“Nonetheless the current situation is unacceptable. NHS England who became the responsible body in April need to improve the quality of the information service as a matter of urgency.”
Dr Friedman continued: “The poor quality of the information is not the only problem with the immunisation service. There are many children who are not vaccinated. The most vulnerable group is 10-16 year olds who have not had a MMR immunisation. They will receive an invitation to be immunised at their GP surgery.
“I have spoken to primary and secondary school heads and written to every school about the importance of the MMR initiative. They have all pledged their support. They also recognise the importance of the parents of all children who have missed immunisations arranging for their child to be immunised. This can be done by contacting your GP.”
In the past three months there has been only one case of measles in Sutton.
The call for more vaccinations was repeated by Dr Brendan Hudson GP, Chair of Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group and Vice Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board, who added: “I urge parents of unimmunised children to contact their GP to arrange for them to be vaccinated. GPs are eager to provide this important service.”