NHS North East and NHS London have reached regional deals with GPs to vaccinate children between six months and five years against swine flu. It comes after negotiators failed to reach a national deal.
The Department of Health said last week NHS Employers had failed to agree a deal with the British Medical Association over the latest extension of the programme and was asking for local plans to be put in place.
We’re hoping to [be able to] roll out the vaccination programme by around Christmas
NHS Employers offered £5.25 per dose, the same as for at-risk priority groups. But the BMA claimed the government “would not support adequate measures to help free up staff time”.
NHS North East and NHS London both reached region-wide deals with local medical committees last Wednesday.
Practices in both strategic health authority areas will receive £5.25 per dose but those in London will also get a one-off payment of up to £100, depending on vaccine uptake.
NHS South East Coast and NHS East of England are also seeking regional deals, while the remainder of SHAs have left it to PCTs to make their own agreements.
Herefordshire PCT director of public health Akeem Ali said: “We’re hoping to [be able to] roll out the vaccination programme by around Christmas. Our preferred choice would be to vaccinate through our local GPs.”
NHS Berkshire West, NHS Luton and the three Birmingham PCTs, located in areas declared swine flu hotspots in the first surge during the summer, said discussions with local GPs were in progress.
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