17th June 2025
Local families are being encouraged to give every child the best start in life by ensuring they are kept up to date with their childhood vaccinations.
Staff at Kilkeel Medical Practice are urging parents and carers to attend their children’s vaccination appointments or let the team know if they cannot make it.
Elaine Trainor, MDT Senior Social Work Practitioner within the practice said:
“The Public Health Agency recommends all babies and children receive their routine vaccinations. These vaccines are crucial in protecting children from serious illnesses, such as measles or polio.
“Within the practice we have a dedicated nurse vaccinator on hand each week to deliver this essential care, ensuring easy access to our immunisation service.
“When a parent does not show up and has not let us know, our staff are left waiting – and that is time and resource that could be spent helping others. We understand that plans can change and children can become ill, however a quick phone call makes all the difference.”
While vaccination is a personal choice, repeated missed appointments will be followed up to ensure that no child is left unprotected.
“Together we can reduce missed appointments and make the most of our time and resources and help every child across the Southern Trust get the best possible start,” added Elaine.
Martina McAloon, MDT Social Work Lead, said that this work aligns closely with the Trust’s newly launched Vision and Strategy.
“Making sure children get their vaccines on time is one of the best ways we can support them to grow up healthy and strong.
“Our new five-year plan focuses on helping people live well at every stage of life and that begins in early childhood. By encouraging families to attend vaccine appointments, we are giving children across the Southern Trust area the best possible start.”