BCG

[jimbo1964]

For reasons to boring to go in to my seven year old missed out on his BCG as a baby. I called my GP to ask if it would be wise to get it done now. They said it would be wise to get it done, but that they wouldn't do it and I'd have to go to a private clinic and pay. This doesn't really sound right to me. Anybody else had a similar experience?

[monniemae]

That sounds odd to me. BCG in London are normally done at BCG clinics - rather than at GP surgery - which may be why they said they cant do it. Ours was at the Waldron Centre but you should be able to get details of where the BCG clinics are held from your surgery or health visiting team. I suppose at 7 the HV team may no longer have responsibility for your son but I would check with them anyway.

[Dodie]

Yes, that seems all wrong - purely pragmatically speaking, surely it's far cheaper for the NHS to vaccinate than to risk a child getting an illness and spending thousands treating them. I've no direct experience but I was once bitten by a rat abroad (very long story). My GP service said that they couldn't give me the post-exposure vaccination (despite me actually holding the serum in my hands, having sourced it from an obscure lab in Collindale - massive palava) but they could do it privately for me if I paid. This did not seem right at the time but I had no choice because if I didn't have the vaccination that day I risked contracting the illness - felt like blackmail! A few days afterwards they contacted me and said they had made a mistake and refunded my money. I think that sometimes in unusual cases, staff aren't so sure of the rules and apply them a bit haphazardly - maybe happening in your case? There is a BCG clinic at Townley Road, it may be worth contacting them directly and getting advice? Good luck.

[jimbo1964]

Thanks for the advice. I've asked for confirmation in writing just in case the person I spoke to wasn't properly informed. I'll get on to Townley Road.

[buggie]

Might be worth checking with the school nurses who cover your son's school as BCG is organised via public health rather than GP (thus the vauge/confusing msg from the GP).

[jimbo1964]

Thanks buggie. Good suggestion.

[sleepy-li]

I have a similar dilema, my daughter who is 6 missed her bcg too. my drs told me not to bother with it as theres little point after the age of two, which also seems odd info, please let me know how you get on...