Staff shortages caused by the Government’s recruitment ban are to blame for the failure to roll out the BCG vaccination programme for newborn babies at University Hospital Galway.
That’s according to Moycullen councillor and Galway West general election candidate Seán Kyne, who claims this delay in introducing the TB inoculation programme is putting the lives of local children at risk.
He says UHG, together with Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe and Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar, has not yet implemented the programme despite strong recommendations to do so by both the HSE’s national immunisation office and the World Health Organisation.
“The BCG vaccine which protects against tuberculosis - a disease which ravaged Ireland for generations - is given to newborns in maternity hospitals. In Galway, however, the standard vaccination is not given until children are in fifth and sixth class of primary school unless parents actively request a vaccination beforehand. Even then, children are merely placed on a waiting list to receive the vaccination.
“Hospital authorities in University Hospital Galway are fully prepared to implement a BCG vaccination programme for newborns but say they cannot do so because of the staff cutbacks and recruitment embargo implemented by the HSE on the direction of the Fianna Fail-Green Government.”
Cllr Kyne says in the wake of the TB outbreak in Cork last year it is “outrageous” that staff shortages and cuts are preventing the vaccination of Galway’s children.
“The HSE and the Government are putting the lives of Galway children at risk. I’m calling on the immediate introduction of a BCG vaccination programme for all newborn children at UHG and for the allocation of new resources to support the wider implementation of a vaccination outreach programme - similar to the pilot one which began in Shantalla in the last few weeks - for the thousands of Galway children who have not yet been inoculated.”
In a statement the HSE West says significant efforts are being made to deliver a neonatal BCG service in Co Galway in line with national policy.
“However, we are doing so within the constraints of existing staffing levels and while also trying to maintain the existing schools BCG programme. The reason it is important to maintain the schools programme is to ensure that no cohort of children misses the opportunity for BCG vaccination. In order for us to do this we have introduced additional clinics to deal with a backlog of both neonatal vaccinations and fifth/sixth class vaccinations. Despite our best efforts we are still forecasting waiting lists in both areas.”
The Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG ) is recommended by the World Health Organisation for infants under 12 months old. After this age, such immunisation is believed not to be as effective, with inconclusive results. For further information on the BCG vaccine log onto www.who.int/immunization_monitoring/diseases/tuberculosis/en/
WHO information on TB is available from www.who.int/features/factfiles/tb_facts/en/index html
