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Nurse gave four-year-old MMR vaccine AGAINST wishes of parents
Last updated at 08:22am on 19.12.07
Unapproved vaccine: Four-year-old girl received MMR against parents' wishes (file picture)
A nurse disregarded the wishes of a four-year-old's parents by giving her the MMR jab.
The girl's mother and father had chosen to pay privately for separate injections for measles, mumps and rubella, as they feared the combined jab might be linked to autism.
But practice nurse Zubaida Khan gave their daughter the combined vaccine anyway, as "parents often change their minds".
Khan, 58, had recently started working at the surgery when the girl, who has Down's syndrome, arrived with her childminder for a booster jab of the vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and polio, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard yesterday.
The child's mother, referred to as Miss B, had sent a note giving permission for that vaccine, and the girl's vaccination record book - but Khan gave her the combined MMR vaccine instead.
Miss B had agonised over whether to give her daughter the MMR vaccine, because of concerns over links to autism, the hearing was told.
"There wasn't enough evidence either way. There was too much of a question mark to, as I saw, take a risk.
"Any chance she would be exposed to any other type of affliction was something I wasn't ready to consider."
But when the girl came home, Miss B discovered she had not been given the booster she went for and instead had been given the MMR jab.
She complained to the Florence Road Surgery in Ealing, West London. Khan was dismissed later that month.
Khan admitted to bosses having read in the girl's record book that she had been given the separate jabs. But she said in her experience parents "often change their minds" about the combined MMR vaccine.
Miss B added: "The nanny told me there had been some problem at the surgery and that the nurse had tried to call me and hadn't got through, then had given her the MMR."
Miss B phoned the surgery and spoke to Khan, the panel heard.
"It didn't seem as if it was a mistake," she added. "It was as though 'one had one's view' and the view was potentially I was in the wrong."
Khan was found guilty of misconduct and handed a caution. In a written judgment it said she "ignored the fundamental principle of informed consent".
Khan, of Hanwell, West London, admitted giving the vaccine without consent, in September 2005. Her solicitor said she apologised for causing anxiety.
Reader views (4)
My daughter is not having the MMR as I don't believe enough research has been conducted into the cause of Autism and spectral disorders.
Personally if a doctor or nurse immunised my child with the MMR against my wishes, I would take legal action.
- Liz, Middlesex
Today a nurse has given my four year old son the MMR booster vaccinne without consent from my wife and I.
My wife took my son to have his pre-school vaccine for Diptheria, tetanus and polio at our local Doctors and the nurse gave the MMR booster without even telling my wife until after the vaccine had been administered. Previous to this we have paid for the individual vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella to be administered privately and this is obvious as it is on my sons medical record.
If this was not bad enough my wife and the nurse were discussing the MMR prior to any injections being given and my wife clearly stated that we did not wish our son to have this vaccine at this time. My wife and I have agonised over a decision regarding the booster for some time and were still not in a postion to decide.
Although the nurse has apologised to my wife I do not believe that this is acceptable and when administering medication exspecially to children there is no room for error.
I have discussed this with a Doctor at the practise and he informs me that the nurse has informed him that she told my wife about the MMR prior to the vaccine being given.
So not only has my four year old son been vaccinated against our wishes but my wife is now being called a liar by the nurse.
- Paul, Iom, Douglas
Small studies have found a correlation between MMR and Autism which could suggest MMR as a cause. However, my belief is that the sample in these studies is too small to be reliable. Millions have now recieved the MMR vaccine without becoming autisic or acquiring bowel disease, my siblings and I all recieved it and are fine. The statistics given by Dr. Dick Van Steenis are inconsistent with the statistics I have found from research also. If a child couldn't fight off the viruses due to them being combined, there would be many more MMR related deaths and it is likely the NHS would then offer the jabs separately. Nevertheless, it was wrong for the nurse to disrespect the parents' beliefs and give the MMR vaccine regardless as obviously some children react differently to certain vaccines. I hope this causes no problems for their daughter, though I would be more concerned about the side affects than its link to autism.
- Tara, Essex
MMR vaccine only protects 76% of children against measles for 1 shot or 86% following 2 shots. Compare with single measles vaccine which protected 96% with 1 shot in Japan and 98% in UK and about the same in Africa where WHO gave 25 million children 1 shot of single measles vaccine with good antibody levels after 5 years. MMR is a very bad vaccine as the B-lymphocytes can only handle mumps or measles at a time.
- Dr. Dick Van Steenis Mbbs, Newtown ,Wales
