WALTHAM FOREST: Measle jab tracking software generates 'drivel'

London is currently suffering the worst outbreak of the disease in twenty years and effective monitoring is vital to fighting the rise in cases.

But the Child Health Interim Application system(CHIA), installed by BT, has received damning criticisms from health authorities across the capital.

In a report given to the Health Protection Agency on vaccination coverage in the borough, Waltham Forest PCT stated that the data produced by the system was "completely inaccurate".

They also stated that the system was "unfit for purpose", referring to the figures it produced as "drivel".

Figures for unconfirmed cases of measles in London jumped to 886 in the 12 months up to June this year, more than tripling from 258 in 2007.

And with as many as 1 in 500 children dying from the disease nationally, some doctors fear London could be sitting on a time bomb.

Without accurate data on immunisation, tens of thousands of children could be left at risk of long term disability and even death.

CHIA figures for Waltham Forest show that about 76 per cent of children in Waltham Forest received their first MMR jab before their second birthday in 2007, with 77 per cent receiving it before their fifth.

But Waltham Forest PCT state that a separate audit of immunisation figures showed the actual number of children who had received the jabs was "significantly higher" than that shown by CHIA and that it "cannot be confident in the data provided from the system".

A PCT spokeswoman said: "The PCT is making every effort to immunise children, including the use of a separate database which is used to write to parents when their child is the age for the vaccination."

A new computer system is to be put in place by the end of the year so that CHIA figures can be replaced with more accurate data but the PCT remains "unable to give an exact figure" for the number of children who have been immunised.