http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=134191
MMR fears lead to six-month wait for parents
seeking single vaccines
By Jeremy Laurance Health Editor
19 February 2002
Internal links
Doctor to
make £40,000 from single MMR jabs
Parents seeking single measles,
mumps and rubella vaccines are facing waits of up to six months as private
clinics struggle to meet demand.
Requests have soared since Christmas, when Tony
Blair refused to disclose whether his baby, Leo, had had the combined MMR jab,
and some GPs are profiting from the panic.
The Independent contacted 14 clinics and
private GPs listed on the website of Jabs, the anti-MMR pressure group,
yesterday. Most carried recorded messages saying that, owing to demand, they
were unable to help new patients.
One of the few to answer was Dr Christopher Parry's
clinic in Colchester, but it was fully booked until July, a receptionist said.
Dr Parry charges £75 per single vaccine and treats five patients an hour in his
Tuesday afternoon clinic, representing a potential gross income of £1,500
before expenses.
Dr Peter Mansfield, who runs a clinic in Louth,
Lincolnshire, three days a week is booked up until April, his receptionist
said. He charges £84 family membership plus amounts ranging from £19 to £45 for
the three vaccines, representing an approximate potential gross income of more
than £2,000 a week.
In Edinburgh, Dr Peter Copp charges £280 for a
course of the three single vaccines and is reported to have immunised 3,500 to
4,000 children in 18 months. His firm, GP Plus, which offers services mainly to
corporate clients and also provides cosmetic surgery, was not returning calls
yesterday.
The rates charged by some doctors were criticised
yesterday by the Royal College of GPs. Dr David Haslam, chairman of the
college's council, said: "I certainly understand that parents are very
concerned. But I find it very disappointing that medical colleagues are
exploiting the marketplace and parental anxiety. There is no proof that single
vaccines are safer than MMR, and there are fewer studies of single vaccines
than of MMR. I would not prescribe single vaccines."
Parents wanting the single vaccines face a
difficult search. Desumo healthcare in Ledbury, Herefordshire, said it was unable
to take new bookings. Dr Richard Halvorsen's clinic in central London had been
"overwhelmed by calls". A receptionist for Dr Peter Campbell in
London said he had no vaccine.
Bupa, the private health company, has banned two
GPs from offering single vaccines at its hospital in Manchester. The GPs, part
of the Manchester Independent Family Practice, had rented consulting rooms from
Bupa, in which they had been giving single vaccines to children of worried
parents.
A spokeswoman for Bupa denied it was responding to
government pressure. "If people want single vaccinations we are happy to
help them to go to other places. But it would be wrong for Bupa hospitals to
have a policy of giving it."
Also from the Health
section.
Rise in national insurance of £4bn may be
unveiled to boost NHS
Top doctor wants more MMR tests to
satisfy parents
Pregnant women should eat fish weekly to
raise baby's birth weight, says study
Feeling poorly? Go out and mow that lawn
Obese adolescent children hit by 'adult'
diabetes
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