Former Nairn GP fears changes to vaccination system will impact rural communities
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A former GP wants Nairn to be exempted from a new vaccination system amid concerns it will have a negative effect on immunisation in rural communities and among the most vulnerable.
NHS Highland is now set to deliver most vaccinations rather than local GP practices, with routine jabs for those heading overseas and childhood vaccinations the latest to be centralised.
Concerns over how the model will work in rural communities have been raised by GPs across the Highlands.
Among them is Dr Alastair Noble, former GP and chairman of the Nairn West and Suburban Community Council.
He said: "The agreed vaccination contract between the Scottish Government and the Scottish BMA (British Medical Association) must rank as a potentially very high risk mistake.
"Nairn is a model of integrated health and social care services, not just in Highland but in Scotland.
"The GP practice, all the support staff, all the IT systems and the custom-designed and built premises are all in place and willing to continue delivering this vital and life-saving service.
"This system could work in the central belt, however this is unworkable in rural Scotland.
"This will mean the board will have to find new personnel delivering the vaccines, and this will potentially leave holes in other services.
"With the new system, you'd have to have someone coming over from Inverness to say Ullapool or Nairn every week, whereas before people could contact the GP when needed. There is a much higher risk of people missing out on vaccine appointments.
"Local medical practices have a better knowledge of their communities and will know who is more at risk of missing out on appointments when we see the re-emergence of currently preventable but potentially fatal infant diseases."
The new model has also been criticised on cost grounds with reports that delivery through the health board could cost up to £9 million a year, compared to £1.5 million through GPs.
Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing has been arguing the case for a different model for the Highlands.
In January he said: “The cost savings of using GPs will run to millions. But the patient safety arguments are as strong.
“Running a parallel separate service will inevitably lead to lower vaccination rates with greater risk to those not vaccinated.
“Travel problems will make it much more difficult for many to access vaccination services run centrally instead of at rural GP practices, particularly the elderly and those with no car."
A spokesperson for NHS Highland said: "GP workloads are stated by the BMA as being higher than ever before. The 2018 contract and associated changes were put in place to reduce the workload and improve patient quality.
"We hope that any additional capacity released through not having to deliver vaccinations can be focussed on the more complex end of health and care and managing this ever-increasing demand.
"It is recognised that the national vaccination programme has extended beyond what GPs have traditionally delivered as part of their contract (eg Covid, extended influenza cohorts) therefore funding to NHS boards has increased as a result."
They added: "In the past those requiring a routine vaccination will have been invited to attend an appointment at your local GP practice.
"As from March 1, 2023 most vaccinations will be delivered by the health board as part of the national vaccination transformation programme.
"Members of the public will still be invited by letter to make an appointment for vaccination, but going forwards this may be at a new local venue, dependant on where you live.
"Travel vaccinations have already begun to transition to health board delivery with a number of community pharmacies across Highland now carrying out this service.
"Our local service delivery centre will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about your appointment and our teams in our locally run clinics."
