How long before a British baby dies of diphtheria?

Greetings comrades and good news as we join together to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our glorious health service. Our esteemed leader is continuing the work of the late Comrade Bevan. Meanwhile Comrade My Lord Darzi has produced a health care plan for the next sixty years. Every local soviet will commission comprehensive wellbeing and prevention services personalised to meet the specific needs of all our comrade patients.We continue to focus on the immunisation of our children. There is no shortage of vaccine. All children will be immunised on time. Appropriate supplies of vaccine have been despatched. Any comrade doctors who have received too many vaccines are free to ask for a reduction in their allocation.

Meanwhile, back at the coal face, Dr Crippen is trying to advise the two practice nurses who run our baby immunisation clinics. We have run out of vaccine. We have ordered and re-ordered. We have emailed, faxed and written to the suppliers and to the Department of Health, all to no avail. I have just cancelled the next two immunisation clinics. There is no point in bringing babies down to the health centre on a wild goose chase. Today we had this letter from the vaccine supplier:

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Ok, you may say, Movianto UK is a private sector company. The government will do something about this. Yes they will, but you will not like it. They are refusing to admit that there is a crisis. They are telling lies. Flagrant, brazen lies.

“we are currently distributing more (vaccine) than is needed to vaccinate all infants…”

“…in order to maintain stability in matching deliveries to supplies, we will introduce ‘allocation’ of the above vaccines…”  (DoH Vaccine Newsletter June 2008)

How will the allocation be decided?

It will be "based on your previous use of these vaccines and cannot be increased". (ibid)

But our list has grown. We have more young, fecund families, and thus more babies who need their immunisations. For the first time in my practice life, I am having to turn away small children who need routine immunisations. I cannot offer them protection against diphtheria This is the reality of eleven years of Gordon Brown's health service. We no longer have enough vaccines to provide routine immunisations for our children.