diphtheria and pertussis/whooping cough vaccination, proof needed for nursing post..

[Guest guest79615]

I need to prove I've been vaccinated against diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough), will i have had these when i was a baby (born in 1981)? My mum cant remember just that i got all the vaccines that she was advised i should have. Will that doctors surgery still have records of it? Anyone else had to do this? Any information appreciated, someone said i might need to go to GP and ask for pertussis one, how much would that be? My current Occupational Health dept provided proof for all the other things but not these two. Thank you

[Guest guest79615]

also could a blood test prove either of these? Thanks x

[Kapri]

I just put on my form that I wasn't sure if I had had them. This was weeks ago and they haven't got back to me yet!

[Guest guest79615]

ooh interesting to hear someone else doing it all i completed my form and got email back stating i needed proof of those two, cant remember if i said i had them or not but i rang the GP surgery today and they are going to have a look and get back to me as its not on their computer system..good luck to them raking through old yellow paper notes! I don't want to end having vaccinations.

[Guest littlesarah]

I was born in '75, so was vaccinated for whooping cough but not diptheria, so can't really help with knowing what you might have had.

 

I can't speak for other states, but I'm guessing all the States would be similar, NSW Health require evidence of vaccination or serology. I didn't have evidence for all of my vaccinations so I got serology for the missing ones, and they accepted that.

[Guest guest79615]

thank you, was serology expensive? im going to NSW health.

[Guest]

Make sure you get the right vaccine for healthcare work. Its the Boostrix jab they want you to have

[Guest littlesarah]

thank you, was serology expensive? im going to NSW health.

 

I didn't have to pay for it - my GP bulk billed the bloods (but I did have to pay for the vaccine, about $30 I think). Do you have to have it all sorted before you start work, or can it be done through Staff Health? I'm not employed by NSW Health, I just work in some of their facilities so I don't know the process from 'the inside' (as it were).

[Guest guest79615]

i think before i start but never thought to ask, thanks for that

[dmjg]

Just get it again if your gp will ok it. Then you will have proof.

[caramac]

You should have had them as a child (the schedule will be different depending on when you were born), but it should definitely be recorded in your GP notes somewhere if you were born and raised in the UK. Your practice must be a bit behind the times as everybody should now have all their details accessible electronically. I spent from 2004 - 2011 doing that job, so someone will be doing it for yours too.

You may well find you need a booster anyway. I know that diphtheria is given routinely with tetanus, so if you've had a tetanus jab recently you'll probably be covered for that, but whooping cough boosters are not routine post childhood. However, with the present outbreak they're probably being extra careful. I'm not working at the moment so not completely up to date with what's going on.

 

Just to add. Your GP notes follow you from practice to practice, so it'll be the one you're currently registered with which will have the record.

[Guest guest79615]

thanks caramac, my old practice didn't have my notes like you said but my current one did and photocopied my paper notes..so now i have proof of diphtheria but no whooping cough, I've been asked to get it before i go over but my GP said no way as they don't give it to adults unless you are pregnant and I'm thinking why is that then, is it dangerous? so I've asked if NSW health can get me the vaccination when i get over to Oz and have their occupational health department do it like they do in the NHS here for HepC n stuff...not heard back

Thanks

[caramac]

It's not dangerous, it's just that it's not part of the schedule. It sounds a bit 'jobsworth' for your gp to refuse to give it to you, but it could be that stocks are low and pregnant women are taking priority atm. You could pay for it, but NSW should offer it if it's a requirement for them. My oh is a dr and he's always been given any imms needed prior to starting work in a new job.

 

Good luck

[Guest guest79615]

thanks caramac, i will push my GP for reasons for his refusal then, see what he says. NSW health have told me i need to have it before i leave the UK or they wont sponsor my visa..great I will phone GP again today or maybe go in person and be super nice and charming x

[caramac]

Good luck! If s/he won't give it you can look at having it privately. I can't imagine it'd be too expensive...:smile:

[Guest guest79615]

Well the stuck up nurse at my GP surgery (i hate some nurses..even though i am one!) wouldn't even let me finish what i was saying or let me make an appointment to speak with the GP, she just said "no you don't need that to get into Australia, no no no, i do the vaccinations here and i say you don't need it and we're not licensed to give it, i have never heard such a request"

 

She also told me to go and do some proper research like she has to know i don't need it, she just would not listen, then refused to speak to me.. the receptionist did quietly congratulate me on securing a job in Sydney and apologized for her colleague and gave me the details for a clinic around the corner who are doing it on Monday for £25 and the doctor couldn't have been nicer, saying they do them all the time for people going traveling.

 

Some people are so ignorant and rude, i nearly never became nurse because i hated the thought of working with them

 

Anyway thanks for all your help and advice, another step closer xx

[caramac]

Well the stuck up nurse at my GP surgery (i hate some nurses..even though i am one!) wouldn't even let me finish what i was saying or let me make an appointment to speak with the GP, she just said "no you don't need that to get into Australia, no no no, i do the vaccinations here and i say you don't need it and we're not licensed to give it, i have never heard such a request"

 

She also told me to go and do some proper research like she has to know i don't need it, she just would not listen, then refused to speak to me.. the receptionist did quietly congratulate me on securing a job in Sydney and apologized for her colleague and gave me the details for a clinic around the corner who are doing it on Monday for £25 and the doctor couldn't have been nicer, saying they do them all the time for people going traveling.

 

Some people are so ignorant and rude, i nearly never became nurse because i hated the thought of working with them

 

Anyway thanks for all your help and advice, another step closer xx

 

Me too. And I'm one too! I cringe at the way some talk to patients, talking down to them. Some drs too. One was so dismissive to me when I took her for an X-ray after a fall. He didn't look at me, just waved his hand saying, 'you can take that ridiculous thing off her arm now'. It was a sling one of the parents who was a GP had put on after she'd fallen. I stood my ground and asked him if he'd mind addressing me directly instead of being so arrogant. The nurse with him looked terrified, but did smile at me.

I've never been intimidated by any of them. Being married to one makes me very aware that they're not the gods some think they are!

£25 seems a very reasonable price for not having to put up with the crap! Never heard of such a request indeed. Rubbish!

Good luck :smile: