Roving vaccination vehicle supports highest vaccination uptake in South-East

Recent data published by health officials has shown a decline in childhood vaccination rates across the UK. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there has been a small increase in some vaccinations*, however the World Health Organisation's (WHO) 95% target for under-fives to be fully vaccinated is still being missed.

Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Paediatrician, Professor Sir Andrew Pollard told BBC News he is "really worried" by the recent rise in whooping, or "100-day", cough, also known as pertussis, which can be particularly serious for babies and infants. He said: "We're really at a tipping point, where there's a real risk for more children getting seriously ill from diseases we can prevent."

From MMR immunisation campaigns to flu and RSV initiatives, we are currently providing 10 mobile vaccination clinics to support various health programmes across the country.

Our mobile vaccination clinics can help to increase uptake by delivering space to support with:

• Accessibility: mobile clinics can improve access by creating convenient drop-in services within convenient settings such as schools, leisure centres and supermarket car parks
• Reach: engage with unvaccinated cohorts and offer a variety of on-the-spot immunisations
• Flexibility: scale up to meet clinical demand with the ability to reach multiple locations per day

Increasing MMR uptake

Following the UKHSA's advice urging parents and carers to ensure their children are up- to-date with vaccinations, Locala Health and Wellbeing helped to improve access to services via their 'clinic in a van'.

The mobile unit delivered accessible drop-in vaccination sessions for children in West Yorkshire, in areas with high deprivation and low MMR vaccine uptake including Ravensthorpe, Batley and Dewsbury. Within just 12 days, the immunisation team successfully delivered approximately 450 vaccinations within seldom heard groups and communities.

Hayley Wimpenny, Service Lead at Locala Health and Wellbeing, said: "The mobile clinic's child immunisation drop-in session created queues around the supermarket car park - the demand was so high that the team had to go back for extra vaccine supplies. It really highlights how putting the community at the heart of our services can make vital care much more accessible for so many."

Supporting with seasonal surges

In addition to addressing childhood vaccination uptake, EMS Healthcare’s mobile units can support the NHS with their operational resilience planning by helping boost capacity for a range of vaccinations, such as flu, COVID-19 and RSV, within hospital estates or out in the community.

We're supporting NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board with a roving vaccination vehicle. Their spring vaccination programme meant that more people were protected from COVID-19 than anywhere else in the South-East. The uptake level in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight was 65.7% which was the highest across the region and the fifth highest for population uptake across the country.

Dr Matt Nisbet, Clinical Lead for the Covid Vaccination Programme at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight said: “This phenomenal achievement could not have happened without a huge amount of hard work and collaboration between Primary Care Networks, community pharmacies and the COVID-19 vaccination programme team who glue all the bits of the system together.

“Our new roving vaccination vehicle was also launched this spring in partnership with and supported by Hampshire County Council. It has helped us reach members of our local communities who may not have otherwise come forward."

Last year, we supported Fylde Coast Medical Service (FCMS) by deploying a mobile vaccination unit in record time. Delivering the unit in less than 24 hours was crucial in ensuring that FCMS could continue to provide planned vaccination clinics throughout Blackpool.

Amanda Ardron, Head of Business Development & Collaboration at FCMS Ltd, said: "EMS Healthcare were incredible in our hour of need. Within 24 hours of calling them, we had a mobile unit heading to Blackpool to support our Autumn vaccination campaign. Excellent service."

Solutions to improve access and boost uptake

EMS Healthcare's mobile units continue to support NHS trusts, health boards and independent providers across the UK with additional clinical space, whenever and wherever it is needed.

For more information about how our mobile vaccination solutions could support you, please get in touch or visit our website.

Source:

*https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-2023-to-2024-quarterly-data/quarterly-vaccination-coverage-statistics-for-children-aged-up-to-5-years-in-the-uk-cover-programme-april-to-june-2023