Immunisations up, contract renewed

Child immunisation rates in Baw Baw Shire increased for the 2016 year, particularly in the five-year-old age group which was up almost four per cent.

Baw Baw Shire Council has extended its contract with Kernow Environmental Services to continue to provide immunisation services in the shire for another two years.

Kernow has run the immunisation service on behalf of council since January 2015. The initial three year contract was at a cost of $492,000.

A report to council said this represented a $100,000 saving over the contract period when compared to in-house management of the service.

Council last week agreed to extend the service for an additional two years, until; January 2020, at a cost of $337,629, which represented a two per cent increase.

A report to council said the Public Health and Wellbeing Act requires councils to provide immunisation services.

The provision of immunisation services involves at least three public immunisation sessions per month for infants and pre-school children and the school immunisation program.

The report outlined performance figures for Kernow.

In 2016, Kernow conducted 34 council infant immunisation sessions and 24 secondary school immunisation sessions.

When compared with 2015, coverage rates recorded in 2016 show an increase in all age groups.

The report said coverage rates were almost level with Gippsland average figures at 94 per cent for the 12 to 15 months and 93 per cent 24 to 27 months age groups.

In the five-year-old age group, coverage rates increased from 93 per cent in 2015 to 97 per cent in 2016, which was higher than the Gippsland average of 95.8 per cent.

Officers said the contract was operating effectively and efficiently.

“The continued delivery of immunisation services provides ongoing community benefit through the increased health and wellbeing of the population.

“An important feature of immunisation is that it brings benefits not only for the individual who receives the vaccine, but also for the entire population through what is known as ‘herd immunity’.

“The underlying principle of this concept is that once enough people are protected, they help to protect vulnerable members of the community by reducing the spread of disease,” the council report said.

Cr Mikaela Power said she was on council when they determined to contract out the service.

“It was a difficult decision because it was a service we had provided,” she said.

Cr Power said she attended a session at Trafalgar recently and was pleased with the way Kernow staff interacted with each other and the public.

Cr Jessica O’Donnell said a community satisfaction survey was conducted at immunisation centres last year and it was pleasing that 100 per cent of respondents indicated their overall satisfaction with the service as being either excellent or above average.

The survey also showed 97 per cent of respondents felt the venues, facilities and parking were satisfactory.

“That indicates it’s a fantastic service and there has been an increase in the rate of children being immunised,” Cr O’Donnell said.