Dental nurses not priority for Hep B vaccine
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- Published: Thursday, 14 September 2017 07:49
- Written by News Editor
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GPonline reports that GPs have been 'removed from supply chain' of hepatitis B vaccine. The GPC has advised GPs to refer patients to other providers to receive the vaccine until further notice, after agreeing that practices should be 'removed from the supply chain'. A letter sent by Public Health England informed practices that general practice will not be able to order any vaccine stock ‘until further notice’.
Many dental practices are finding that team members, particularly new entrants, cannot obtain the vaccine, which leads them to be unavailable for most assisting work in dental practices.
The British Dental Association has responded to feedback from members impacted by the global shortage of Hepatitis B Vaccine. Despite their high risk status, dental nurses have not been given priority access to the vaccine by occupational health clinics, leaving members at risk of missing contract targets. Manufacturing issues at drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline have left health services worldwide facing supply problems.
BDA General Dental Practice Chair, Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, said: “The global shortage of Hepatitis B Vaccine is placing needless strain on UK dental practices, and any impact must be limited. We have contacted Public Health England to get nurses up the pecking order, giving them increased priority once supply restrictions ease. PHE appear to agree with us that dental nurses are at ‘imminent and high risk of exposure’, so should already fall into higher-priority groups alongside dentists who are able to access the vaccine now.
“However we know of members sending nurses to occupational health clinics to begin vaccination courses who have seen them turned away. So that priority access is, on the whole, not available as it should be. We have asked PHE for help establishing who might be responsible for suggesting to local occupational health providers that they can invoke an over-ride for people who fall into priority groups, including non-immunised dental nurses.
“We know many practices will be concerned about potential underperformance with nurses unable to work chairside. We have raised the issue directly with NHS England, and would encourage members to keep a close record of the impact on activity. Hardworking dentists should not face penalties because of failure at a pharmaceutical multinational.”
The BDA advises that dentists should contact their defence organisation and employer liability insurance providers to ensure that they are complying with the terms of their cover.
Doctors
GP practices are being advised by the BMA to refer adult patients to hospital or NHS Occupational Health Services to receive the hepatitis B vaccine. The strict measures come in light of a worldwide shortage of hepatitis B vaccine, caused by problems with the manufacturing process, which has ‘severely impacted UK supply’. A letter sent by PHE informed practices that general practice will not be able to order any adult hepatitis B vaccine stock ‘until further notice’.
The BMA’s GPC clinical and prescribing lead Dr Andrew Green said removing GPs from the supply chain would help simplify the process of prioritising those at greatest risk of contracting the virus, and other services were ‘best placed to prioritise demand’. The risk of contracting hepatitis B in the UK is very low, and vaccination is usually only offered to patients at high risk of being exposed to blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person.
Global shortage
High-risk groups include babies born to mothers who are infected with hepatitis B, sexual partners of infected individuals, healthcare workers and people who inject drugs. With only limited stocks on hand, healthcare professionals are advised to prioritise patients who have already been exposed to a known infected source over those who have had contact with an unknown source or looking to receive as a preventative measure.
PHE said this priority system will continue until at least the beginning of 2018 and will be ‘kept under review’. It added that the measures would help ‘preserve adult and paediatric hepatitis B vaccine stock for those at the highest risk and with the greatest ability to benefit’. The restrictions do not affect the combined vaccine that includes hepatitis B routinely given to babies at two, three and four months. This is not affected by the shortage and should still be provided by GPs.
Hepatitis B vaccine
Dr Green said: ‘While supplies of Hepatitis B vaccine are so short it is vital that doses are used to cover those at most risk of infection, and it is right that supplies are protected for the NHS.’ He criticised an alert detailing the restrictions on the NHS central alerting system (CAS) for not highlighting that GP practices will not be responsible for providing the vaccine during the shortage.
‘The CAS alert should have been clearer that the responsibility for immunising patients at risk rests with the bodies that have had their supplies protected. The BMA’s GP committee believes that removing GPs from the supply chain makes this process simpler and will help GPs who otherwise might find themselves being asked to administer vaccines they cannot obtain.
‘Hospital trusts and NHS Occupational Health Services are in particular best placed to prioritise demand. GPs will continue to provide vaccination to at-risk new-borns who thankfully are not affected by this shortage.’
Employers' liability insurance
Whilst the defence organisations will undoubtedly be happy to advisectheir members in this situation, it is the employers' liability insurance that is more likely to be called into play if staff are exposed to a risk in the workplace.You need to be logged in to leave comments.
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