no BCG vaccination if you live in Galway...

galah

what the??? (rant follows)

I am actually pretty outraged at the moment. It seems that vaccinations for BCG (tuberculosis) are available for infants in other counties and other hospitals - but NOT in Galway or anything governed under the HSE West (so my GP told us yesterday). The GP said it was a lack of staff and funding here, so babies in Galway won't get the vaccine, unless you are in a risk group (such a parents are healthcare workers or you plan to travel to certain risk countries). Yet, if you lived anywhere else in Ireland, you would get the vaccine...now the chances of catching tuberculosis may be slim, so the necessity of this vaccine is questionable, but it's more the fact that your location determines what kind of healthcare you receive that p*sses me off...

How can that be?

Lola92

I would be ringing up your maternity hospital and other gp's in the surrounding area to confirm. Hopefully your GP is mistaken in some way! That is just ridiculous though, there has been a rise in cases of TB in recent years I can't see why the HSE would be leaving out this part of the immunisation schedule but only in the Galway area?

January

Moved from Parenting to Health Sciences

GerardKeating

galah wrote: »

what the??? (rant follows)

I am actually pretty outraged at the moment. It seems that vaccinations for BCG (tuberculosis) are available for infants in other counties and other hospitals - but NOT in Galway or anything governed under the HSE West (so my GP told us yesterday). The GP said it was a lack of staff and funding here, so babies in Galway won't get the vaccine, unless you are in a risk group (such a parents are healthcare workers or you plan to travel to certain risk countries). Yet, if you lived anywhere else in Ireland, you would get the vaccine...now the chances of catching tuberculosis may be slim, so the necessity of this vaccine is questionable, but it's more the fact that your location determines what kind of healthcare you receive that p*sses me off...

How can that be?

Lola92 wrote: »

I would be ringing up your maternity hospital and other gp's in the surrounding area to confirm. Hopefully your GP is mistaken in some way! That is just ridiculous though, there has been a rise in cases of TB in recent years I can't see why the HSE would be leaving out this part of the immunisation schedule but only in the Galway area?

It's been that way for a while now...

If you google "BCG Galway", you will see the length some people go to get the BCG here, there are "walk-in" clinics in Dublin & Clare for example.

For us (fortuitousness) we were in one of the risk groups you mention above, so we got the BCG.

Have a word with your Public Health nurse or GP, they can refer you to the clinic..

bleg

Is it given in Cork? I know it wasn't for years.

Tree

I think they reintroduced it in Cork after a spate of TB in nursery schools in the last few years. Good 20 year stretch where they didnt. They had to vaccinate us all in college before the hospital placements.

Apanachi

galah wrote: »

I am actually pretty outraged at the moment. It seems that vaccinations for BCG (tuberculosis) are available for infants in other counties and other hospitals - but NOT in Galway or anything governed under the HSE West

They don't give them in here Germany at all

Nonoperational

It's efficacy is questionable, maybe they don't see the cost/benefit is favourable.