To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the GP contract 2020-21 supporting guidance will require all practices to implement a proactive call and recall for the shingles national immunisation programme to ensure the protection of older adults.
Answered on
22 April 2020
Immunisations play a critical role in preventative healthcare and in promoting health and well-being across the life course, particularly for older adults where protection against shingles is so important. The ‘Update to the GP contract agreement 2020/21 – 2023/24’ jointly published by NHS England and the British Medical Association on the 6th February 2020 states that practices should ensure their call and recall systems are in line with national standards. These will be defined in supporting guidance for each vaccination programme and over time will be updated to reflect use of the most effective technology. Some areas already use text-based reminders, and all practices must move towards this as soon as the infrastructure is in place. Call/recall will be delivered by practices themselves as a default or may be delivered by the local Child Health Information Systems (CHIS) on their behalf.