Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether any information held by NHS Highland in relation to the comparative uptake rates of childhood immunisation through the (a) GP practice-delivered and (b) NHS board-delivered vaccination service in Argyll and Bute, against illnesses such as pertussis (whooping cough), has been withheld from GPs practicing in the Highlands; if this is the case, for what reason; whether any information not provided to Highland GPs has been shared with the Scottish Government by NHS Highland, and, if so, on what dates any such information was shared.
NHS Highland was escalated to stage 2 of the NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework for their vaccination services in late 2023 and since then Scottish Government officials have been engaging closely in an improvement and assurance process which includes the Board Chief Executive and Director of Public Health. As part of this process, the Scottish Government receives a wide range of management information from NHS Highland. The best available information on comparative uptake rates of childhood immunisation through GP practice-delivered and NHS board-delivered vaccination services in Argyll and Bute was shared by NHS Highland with the chair of the GP committee in Highland on 2 July.