UK Vaccination Records

[rjm_cmyk 75]

As a baby boomer Brit my parents made sure I got every vaccination going right up to the full monty BCG TB jabs. No Hampstead Heath bleeding heart liberals my parents.

As an adult I've had the occasional Hep and booster when I've been visiting far away countries.

Having asked my GP this morning for my vaccination record I discover it goes back all of 10 years and so although I'm good to go to say India or Mexico I don't appear so good for the US. Is this normal for the NHS ?

I suppose I could go back and have them all again (those that I need) but will further digging find more ? I'm not exactly a regular flier at my GP's - I average about one visit every three years (I see this as a good thing) so don't have a detailed record with any GP.

What's everyone else done ?

<just spotted this thread>

Edited April 24, 2013 by rjm_cmyk

[Boiler 45,665]

I go back further, no need for MMR.

They had my records.

[cathy2904 97]

Yep, have you checked they have nothing else - my records went back 50 years!! I was amazed as I was fully expecting to have to have them redone.

[rjm_cmyk 75]

I'm seeing the practice nurse next week so will ask her then.

[Owen_London 65]

I'm going to apply for AOS very soon, and my UK medical records have a big gap. I have records up till we moved house at age 5, then there's a big gap until I moved to London aged 22. Is it possible that you moved house ten years ago? If so it might be worth contacting the surgery or NHS group where you lived before, to try to locate the records.

[katieflossom 54]

Your doctors should have all your records. I have moved around in the UK a lot, and they have records going back 28 years of my 29 year life. I just have to go in with a written letter and £10 and they'll send my my vaccination records. Hopefully your nurse can help!

[rjm_cmyk 75]

My GP practice has sweetbuggerall in terms of my records. I asked again today. You kinda get the impression that my historic record is in a brown folder somewhere they have no plans to go to unless they really need to get them. So I will redo the essentials many of which may well be too long ago to keep everyone happy anyway. Moved many times - some places never registered with a GP either.

[Chloezilla 2]

I know you posted this a while back but there is a thing called "child's health" (at least I'm Wales) or something like that, my nurse phoned them and they had all my childhood vaccines on record. My surgery now has them and has printed off a list for me to take to my medical. Might be worth looking into that?

Might save you some money/pain.

[Berty 74]

Some practices just aren't very organised, sadly; I suppose it's all down to whether they properly updated and converted when they moved away from paper and to their computer database systems. As has been mentioned I'm sure there's plenty of records out there in envelopes tucked away and untouched over the years.

Funnily enough my GP didn't have a clue when I initially enquired - printing out about two years' worth of records - but when I asked at the reception I was put on the correct path and received my full history (for free, since it was basically just a screen grab from their system).

There are a few practices that have only just moved over from papers in filing cabinets, which boggles the mind considering it's 2013.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Berty

[Naddy&Mikey 2]

It really is amazing how medical record keeping & surgery's differ. I was really concerned that when I requested a print out of my vaccination records that it was only going to go back a few years, so was surprised to see that every vaccination I'd had done went back to 1972, nearly a year after I was born.

I presumed that the majority of records would be on a computer data base? Obviously some surgery's still have it in paper format...

[rjm_cmyk 75]

I presumed that the majority of records would be on a computer data base? Obviously some surgery's still have it in paper format...

Nahhh - this is NHS IT we're talking about here. I'm just going to go ahead and get MMR and adult DTAP done. Won't need flu and have had chickenpox as a kid

[Naddy&Mikey 2]

Nahhh - this is NHS IT we're talking about here. I'm just going to go ahead and get MMR and adult DTAP done. Won't need flu and have had chickenpox as a kid

Lol.....Yep NHS.....great for some things but not for record keeping.

MMR was free at my docs, so it should be for you too. Although does it vary from county to county in the U.K?

[Boiler 45,665]

My records were all paper, would they go back and enter all past data, seems unlikely.

[Naddy&Mikey 2]

My records were all paper, would they go back and enter all past data, seems unlikely.

Well when I had new vaccinations done for my medical she just entered them on the computer system and then printed it out. So they might do that, but if you mean all your past doctors notes etc, I doubt it. But worth asking eh?

[Oregon Bound 30]

Same problem here. They have records but not all of them My childhood records would have been paper and despite attempts, nobody has them they say Had the tetanus polio shot the other day but my surgery won't give the MMR, says I have to go to a travel clinic for that and for the kids to have the Hep B. No clinic in my town so may just get them done at Knightsbridge Doctors