Hertfordshire and East Anglia Community and School Age Immunisation Service

If you need to speak to someone in our teams to discuss your vaccination appointment or if you have an eligibility enquiry please get in touch:

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire Community and School Age Immunisation Service:
Telephone Number: 01727 732 062 – 8:00am to 4pm
Email: hct.immsenquiries@nhs.net
Follow us on Twitter: @HCTNHS

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Community and School Age Immunisations Service:
Telephone Number: 0300 555 5055 (Option 1 at Menu) – 8:00am to 4pm
Email: hct.csaiscambspb@nhs.net
Follow us on Twitter: @CambsImmsTeam

Norfolk

Norfolk Community and School Age Immunisations Service:
Telephone Number: 0300 555 5055 (Option 2 at Menu) – 8:00am to 4pm
Email: hct.csaisnorffolk@nhs.net
Follow us on Twitter: @ImmsNorfolk

Suffolk

Suffolk Community and School Age Immunisations Service:
Telephone Number: 0300 555 5055 (Option 3 at Menu) – 8:00am to 4pm
Email: hct.csaissuffolk@nhs.net
Follow us on Twitter: @SuffolkImmsTeam

Vaccination UK (Influenza School Vaccines)

Telephone Number: 01462 341173
Email: vaccinationhertfordshire@evguk.co.uk
Or visit their website: travelvaccination.co.uk

Are you or your child eligible to be vaccinated?

Vaccinations given by our Community and School Age Immunisation Services have age brackets where you first become eligible, and for some a set period between doses of the same vaccine. It is normally advised that you leave a minimum of four weeks between vaccinations of the same kind, but you can have several different vaccines at once; for example you can have your School Leaving Booster (DTP) and your Meningitis ACWY vaccination on the same day.

For the 2021/22 Academic Year the eligibility will be as follows:

A child will continue to be eligible for a vaccine even if they missed it the first year of eligibility – for example, if a HPV vaccination was missed in Year 8, it can be give as a catch up in Year 9.

There are some specific requirements for each vaccine or area, which is described in the chart below:

How do you consent to be vaccinated?

For children and young people under the age of 16, parents, or adults with Parental Responsibility granted through court, must give consent for vaccination via our online system. Parents/carers will receive the information from school, usually via the school’s email or text system, which will include instructions for giving or declining consent online via our accessible “E-Consent” process, as well as a closing date. Young adults over the age of 16 are able to consent themselves without requiring parental consent.

It is important to remember to complete your consent form online even if you or your child is refusing to receive the vaccination with us. We can base future planning and changes to how vaccinations are provided from your responses and ensure our services meet your needs. You can change your consent/refusal at any time whilst the online portal is open use the link provided by your school – or if you need to urgently change this consent form and the portal is already closed for that session please call us on the Contact Us details listed above.

Very occasionally, a young person under the age of 16 may request a vaccination without parental consent. In these circumstances a qualified clinician would make a thorough assessment of the young person’s understanding, knowledge and competence to make such a decision. If the decision is made that they have the right level of knowledge and understanding, and they cannot be persuaded to discuss it with their parents, the clinician may go ahead and vaccinate the young person, known as Gillick Competency.

There are a few things you can do to prepare your child for vaccination that might be helpful. It’s completely natural that children might feel anxious about having their vaccines – if they don’t know what to expect they might fear imagined situations that won’t happen in reality. Here is some advice on how you can reassure your child about some common worries, and how best to look after them once they’ve had a vaccination.

Top tips

• Your child might be calm and confident about having the vaccine, but there are still some things you can do so they are prepared. It helps to talk to your child about why they are having the vaccine. You could explain that it is only a few seconds only of discomfort and protects them from diseases that could make them very unwell.
• If you can, make sure your child wears short sleeves on the day as this makes it much easier and quicker, and your child won’t have to undo or take their shirt off. If not, encourage them to wear a vest under their school shirt.
• Check your child has breakfast before school as being anxious burns more calories and this can make them have a headache after they’ve had the injection.
• Talk to your child about not listening to rumours and scary stories to do with having the vaccine. If you have anything that you or your child are about worried about, you can call the school's immunisation team.
• If your child is anxious they could practice deep breathing to help them relax, they can use an app like Headspace, or just count to 10 breathing slowly in through their nose and then out through their mouth.
• The nurse will support your child and chat to them about the vaccination process and what they’re doing.
• Not sure about what a vaccination feels like and worried about needle-pain? Suggest that your child flicks the palm of their own hand – the sensation and length of time it lasts are similar to having an injection.

Getting and feeling ready

• The injection is not like a blood test, it’s easier and much quicker
• It feels like a pinch or a cat scratch
• The needles are not huge - just long enough to get to the right place!
• It’s much quicker than having a piercing or a tattoo
• The needle cannot break off in your arm and we can’t leave any part of it inside you
• Your arm will not fall off – reactions to vaccines are very rare, and even more common ones tend to be mild and pass quickly
• You will not get the disease – vaccines either have only part of the virus, or an inactive ‘dead’ virus or so little that it cannot infect you with the actual disease
• The vaccine protects you, it doesn’t harm you – even if you feel sore or tired after the vaccination you’re not sick; it’s just your immune system working, and your body learning how to fight that virus in the future

Aftercare

• Your child will be advised to continue with their normal activities and to move their arm regularly after their injection. This will help to avoid the arm feeling stiff
• It is very common to experience mild side effects such as redness, pain and swelling at the injection site. Paracetamol can be taken if needed
• Your GP practice will be automatically notified that you’ve received a vaccination so that it can be recorded in your medical record at the GP – you don’t need to tell them separately
• If parents, carers or children have any concerns, they can contact the team via the details on our Contact Us page. Out of hours, advice should be sought from 111 or their GP if you feel you have had a reaction to a vaccine

What to expect at a session?

Children will be called down in groups from class, or groups determined by the administrators, to be given their vaccinations on the day. It is useful if parents are available to be contacted on the day if needed to clarify queries on consent or refusal.

Children absent on the day of the vaccination session may be able to be seen at a future session if the team have more than one session booked for the vaccine; and we will endeavour to recall any patients who have missed vaccinations in previous years each time we visit a school. You should not need to re-consent if you miss your first appointment with us; but please understand that sometimes we may need to confirm your consent if your child has recently joined to the school and we’ve not seen your child before. Alternatively, you may have an invitation to book an appointment at one of our community clinics should you wish to catch up any missed school vaccines.

Myth-busting vaccinations

When your child has a vaccine they develop antibodies to protect against the disease – this is called 'immunisation'. After this, if your child comes into contact with the disease, their body will recognise it and know how to fight against it with those antibodies, stopping them from getting sick or reducing dramatically the time they are sick for and how severe their sickness gets.

There are a lot of myths around vaccination that can cause stress, anxiety and worries.

• It’s a myth that your child can’t have a vaccine if they have a cough or cold - as long as they don’t have a fever they can have a vaccine
• It’s a myth that you can use homeopathy instead of vaccines. There isn’t any evidence that homeopathy protects your child from serious diseases, this is what vaccinations are for
• Sometimes people may think it’s better to get the disease than to have the vaccine that protects against it. The diseases that vaccines protect us from can have very serious complications, which can be avoided by having the vaccine. Reactions tend to be mild and pass quickly – and you cannot pass a vaccination on to another person accidentally whilst recovering
• It’s a myth that you can be overwhelmed by vaccinations. It can take up to 12 days to be fully immunised following a vaccination as the body adapts and learns – however a vaccine uses a tiny percentage of your immune system to trigger that process and having a vaccination won’t make it more likely for you to get sick with something else in the meantime
• It’s a myth that single vaccinations are ‘better’ than combined vaccines. This is often said about receiving the combined MMR vaccine vs individual Measles vaccines – but there’s no evidence to suggest that it has any benefit and it delays protection and increases the number of injections you must have – for more information see here
• It’s a myth that vaccinations can cause autism. There is no link between MMR vaccines and diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum. Research exploring and explaining this perception have investigated widely and found no link. The Oxford University 'Vaccine Knowledge Project' has a list of MMR studies and their findings.

Feedback and patient experience

The Trust's Patient and Carer Experience Team supports everyone who uses our services to share their feedback and to work alongside the Trust departments to understand feedback and make improvements where necessary.

One of the tools we use is the Friends and Family Test; which is a national questionnaire designed to measure how well a service is performing and where there may be areas for improvement.

If you would like to know more about the Patient and Carer Experience Team please visit their homepage here.

Alternatively if you’d like to contact the teams directly:

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
Telephone Number: 0800 011 6113 / 01707 388164 - 10am to 2pm
Email: pals.hchs@nhs.net

Raising a formal complaint and providing feedback
Telephone Number: 01707 388036 - 9.30am to 4pm
Email: hct.patientexperienceteam@nhs.net