Should the NHS offer all kids chickenpox vaccinations after tot is hospitalised for five days with ‘worst case doctors had ever seen’?
Mum Sarah Allen has called on ministers to change current laws which state only children with a weakened immune system can receive free treatment
A MUM, who's son was hospitalised for five days with the worst case of chickenpox 'doctors had ever seen', is calling on the NHS offer vaccinations for all kids.
Sarah Allen, 36, has urged the government to rethink the eligibility for immunisation legislation after her two-year-old son's chickenpox sores became severely infected.
Immunisation against the disease isn't part of the government's childhood vaccination programme and only children with a weakened immune system, such as those undergoing chemotherapy, can receive treatment.
But now, the mum-of-two has spoken out after her son Jasper was initially refused an appointment at the GP surgery because the receptionists didn’t think his condition was severe enough.
“When I first called our local GP’s surgery, I spoke to the receptionist to make an appointment for Jasper, but when I told her it was chickenpox, she said to me, ‘Every mother thinks their child has bad chickenpox,’" explained Sarah.
"I knew I wasn’t being a neurotic mother. I have two children and have run a nursery and seen hundreds of kids with chickenpox before, so I knew this wasn’t normal.
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Less than 48 hours later, after being refused treatment Jasper's condition worsened and he was rushed to Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Cambridgeshire, and put on a drip, antibiotics and morphine.
“When Jasper was admitted to hospital, it was scary, but I was also relieved I was actually being taken seriously and that they were doing something about it," she recalled.
"We couldn’t hold him for three days because he screamed every time we touched him.”
A spokesperson for Public Health England, who oversee NHS vaccination schemes, have since released a statement.
“The expert advisory body the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is currently undertaking a review of a childhood vaccination programme against chickenpox in the UK, based on the available scientific evidence, including consideration of the cost-effectiveness of any programme," they said.
"This review is likely to be concluded next year.”
