Survey reveals GPs' doubts over safety of MMR

A survey of GPs in the Highlands has revealed that just under half of doctors in the area feel uncomfortable discussing the jab with patients.

Nearly 15% did not think the benefits of the combined mumps, measles and rubella vaccine outweighed the possible risks. And 28% were concerned about the possible side effects of the vaccine.

With recent immunisation figures showing parents are still reluctant to have their children vaccinated with MMR, the survey only emphasises the confusion over the safety of the jab.

It has also raised concerns about reaching the targets for immunisation set by the Scottish Executive that health experts claim are needed to prevent future outbreaks of the disease.

The survey by NHS Highland’s public health department asked 206 doctors working in general practises in the area to complete questionnaires about vaccinations.

Nearly half - 44% of those questioned - said they wanted further training on immunisation issues to help them deal with patients’ anxieties.

"Previous work has found parents look to health professionals for advice on immunisation issues," said Rob Henderson, one of the researchers who wrote the report.

"This study has highlighted that GPs have marked concerns regarding the MMR vaccine. There is a relative lack of confidence regarding MMR. Educational sessions may be considered as a means of equipping primary care colleagues to meet this need."

The concerns expressed by GPs are in stark contrast to the firm line the Scottish Executive has taken on the MMR jab. It has insisted that the bulk of the evidence shows the vaccine is safe for use.

But the most recent figures reveal that the uptake in Scotland is failing to reach the Executive’s targets.

In two-year-olds born during 2002 it was 88.3%, an increase on 1.5% on the previous year. The figures still fall short of the target of 95%, which health officials claim is necessary to ensure immunity within the population and prevent outbreaks.

The low uptake has fuelled fears that parents have still not accepted that the controversial triple vaccine is safe.

Dr Marie Scott, chair of the Royal College of GPs in Edinburgh, said the concerns over MMR expressed by doctors in the Highlands were reflected elsewhere in the country.

She said: "The issue has been very difficult and confusing. Patients are turning to GPs to seek reassurances about whether MMR is safe, but GPs are less confident in saying this absolutely.

"A lot of what GPs do is working with individual patients and it can be hard when they are listening to individual compelling cases to categorically say something is absolutely safe.

"And GPs know there are always cases that defy the rules so to rule it out altogether would put them in a difficult situation."

The original claim linking MMR to autism in children was made by London-based Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998.

He speculated that the live measles virus in the MMR vaccine caused persistent infections that led to gut and brain damage. His theory caused a widespread scare and led to many parents refusing to immunise their children.

But his research has now been largely discredited after some of Wakefield’s co-authors issued a partial retraction.