Doctors must lead by example on vaccines

IT IS unacceptable on a number of levels that so many frontline hospital staff are failing to avail of the flu vaccine.

Firstly it means that when such staff members succumb to the virus, an alreadyoverloaded system will face further strain when these people have to take sick leave. On another front it is simply the case that when it comes to important medical issues that affect everyone, it is medical professionals who should be leading by example, thereby illustrating their belief in the importance and efficacy of such vaccination programmes. To fail to do so only undermines the entire campaign.

Vaccinations save lives. Which is why doctors are now calling for more Government money to be invested in new campaigns to increase awareness of the importance of the MMR vaccine for young children.

And yet, well-intentioned as this is, it actually misses the point. For many people are resistant to big, glossy, costly Government campaigns. And for those already distrustful of the vaccine, it only reinforces their existing scepticism.

People trust their family doctors, however. And this is where those doctors can play their part.

Instead of calling for more funding for advertising campaigns, they should be using their positions in their surgeries to hammer home to every parent who visits them, for whatever reason, the importance of having their child vaccinated against MMR. That message, from the family GP, needs to be repeated over and over again.

Parents need to hear, from someone they know and trust, that if they do not vaccinate their child and their child contracts measles, then the grim reality is that their child could die. By not giving them the MMR vaccine, they are risking the life of the most precious thing in their lives.

If family doctors committed to adopting this approach, inevitably the up-take of the vaccine would be greater.

It’s a message that must be communicated. And it’s up to the medical professionals to do so, and lead by example.