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Why has
MMR proved such an acute political problem for Tony Blair?
Confirmed
measles cases in North-east and London increase fears of epidemic
Ignore
media scaremongers, PM tells parents
Natasha
Walter: Don't play political games with MMR
Parents who refuse to let their
children have the MMR vaccine are being removed in increasing numbers from GPs'
lists, a patients' group said.
The Patients' Association said it had "grave
concerns" about the revelation, which seemed to be driven by a desire
among doctors to secure the annual bonuses paid for hitting immunisation
targets.
Complaints have come in recent months from several
families who claimed to have been taken off surgery lists, the association
said. Mike Stone, director of the association, said: "We have had a number
of calls from people saying they or their children have been taken off their
GP's list because they don't want the MMR vaccine. The problem is that once
they have been taken off by one GP for refusing the MMR, they have trouble
finding another doctor."
GPs are rewarded for meeting targets through a
complex system of fees and payments. If a surgery vaccinates 70 per cent of
eligible children with MMR, each doctor gets a bonus of £910, rising to £2,730
if 90 per cent are immunised.
A north London health authority started an inquiry
yesterday after a mother said her child was a victim of such treatment. Barnet,
Enfield and Haringey health authority said it was "checking the facts as a
matter of urgency" after the women, who declined to be named, told the
BBC.
She said: "We received a letter when my son
was about two-and-a-half, saying the GP had requested his name be removed from
his patient list and that we should seek another GP.
"There were no reasons given in the letter
but, in conjunction with receiving the letter, I also had a message from the
manager of the health centre. The rationale given to me was that my son hadn't
had the MMR jab and, therefore, was bringing down the figures that were
required to show the health centre was meeting targets for MMR vaccination.
"If the health centre didn't meet the targets,
they didn't receive financial bonuses."
She added: "They were in danger of not meeting
their targets so they were, in effect, culling their lists of children who had
not had the MMR jab."
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Milburn's sceptical constituents turn to
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