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Collections under which this article appears: Adverse drug reactions Infants Patient - caregiver communication (including Patient education)

BMJ 2001;323:532 ( 8 September )

News

Scottish GPs to be sent discussion packs on MMR vaccine

Helen Barratt, BMJ

The Scottish minister for health and community care, Susan Deacon, has unveiled new measures to provide parents in Scotland with more information about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Discussion packs are to be sent to every GP in Scotland encouraging doctors and parents to review the existing evidence regarding the vaccination programmes.

The packs, which will be sent out this month, set out the facts on the most common questions about the vaccine, such as how the vaccine works and possible side effects. They aim to allow health professionals and parents to explore related concerns together.

Ms Deacon also announced the membership of an expert group on MMR vaccine, which has been set up to address a range of issues arising from the report on the triple vaccine by the Scottish Executive's health and community care committee, published earlier this year.

The group will examine evidence relating to the apparent rise in the incidence of autism among children and will report to the minister by the end of February 2002. It will also investigate the possible consequences of pursuing an alternative vaccination policy to the current single vaccine programme.

The group will be chaired by the Very Reverend Graham Forbes, the provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, and includes representatives from the Scottish Society for Autism, the National Society for Colitis and Crohn's Disease, the Medical Research Council, and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Commenting on the proposals, Ms Deacon said: "Studies from around the world have consistently shown that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and conditions such as autism and Crohn's disease. However, we have a duty to continue to do all we can to ensure that parents have clear answers to the questions they have raised about MMR, answers which will help them make an informed choice about the health of their child."

The hearing by the General Medical Council's interim orders committee for Dr Peter Mansfield, the GP at the centre of the single vaccine inquiry (11 August, p 300), has been postponed a month until 26 September.

© BMJ 2001

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.