Health visitors and public health nurses working for North East Lincolnshire Council have been chosen as part of a national NHS pilot to trial delivering vaccinations to children in their own homes.
North East Lincolnshire Council is one of only four local authorities in the Yorkshire and Humber region that has been chosen to be part of the pilot.
The pilot scheme will see health visitors and public health nurses reach families facing barriers to vaccines, making sure that more children are protected from nasty viruses.
Over the next few weeks, the NHS will identify families in areas where there is low vaccination coverage. Health visitors and public health nurses will then approach those families to explore reasons for not taking up the vaccination.
Councillor Stan Shreeve, deputy leader and portfolio holder for health, wellbeing and adult social care at North East Lincolnshire Council, said that the programme was a great opportunity.
“It’s fantastic for our health visitors and public health nurses to be a part of this Government-funded programme.
“We all want to keep our children safe from harm, and we know that vaccinations offer protection from some really quite awful conditions.
“Things like meningitis, pneumonia , whooping cough (pertussis) and polio shouldn’t really exist in this day and age, but sadly they still to this day claim lives, so it’s important that we get children vaccinated.
“Unfortunately many families face barriers to accessing vaccinations. These may include travel costs, language difficulties, and vaccine hesitancy.
“Vaccines are a choice, and as part of this programme, we want to try to understand why some families decide not to take-up the vaccination offer, and how some of these barriers can be overcome.
“I’m hopeful that, through this pilot, more families in North East Lincolnshire are able to take-up the offer of vaccinations for their children, offering long-term protection.”
The programme will begin in the next few weeks, with public health nurses and health visitors contacting families who have been identified by the NHS
The pilot scheme will be offering vaccinations during routine health visits, for children aged 0 to 5 years.
Families should continue to get vaccinated at their local surgery first. The pilot scheme is targeted at those families whose children are significantly delayed in receiving their routine vaccinations through a GP.
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