Our immunisation leads have developed
a campaign together with the preventative medicine team
in public health at Inner North West London primary care trusts
to increase awareness of the HPV vaccination amongst parents
of girls aged 12-13. The campaign will use posters on buses across
the boroughs.
Girls in year 8 can arm themselves against cervical cancer
by getting the HPV vaccine that is being offered in schools by
our nurses. Eligible girls will be provided with three doses
of the HPV vaccine. Our school nursing team will be working with
both parents and girls to make sure they know that they need to
receive all three doses for the vaccine to be fully effective.
Jane Clegg, director of nursing quality and assurance at CLCH
said:
"The HPV vaccine is crucial in helping prevent a deadly disease.
It's important that year 8 girls get all three doses of the vaccine
from their school nurse - it's very safe and has an extremely
high prevention rate".
Dr Adrian Brown, consultant in public health medicine, said:
"We strongly believe that all girls should be protected against
cervical cancer and we are working with schools where there hasn't
yet been full uptake of the three dose HPV vaccine."
Cervical cancer develops in the cervix and is caused by a virus
called HPV. There are over 100 types of HPV, HPV types 16 and 18
are responsible for over 70% of all cervical cancers in
Europe. HPV types 6 and 11 cause the majority of cases of
genital warts. The HPV vaccine is also 99% effective at
preventing genital warts associated with vaccine types in young
women. It is estimated that about 400 lives could be
saved in the UK every year as a result of vaccinating girls before
they are infected with HPV.
The campaign adverts will be on 24 bus rears on routes 10,
23 and 70 which run across the boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham,
Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster from 8 October for four
weeks.
For more information please visit our school nursing pages or
call:
Westminster 020 7641 7467
Kensington and Chelsea 020 7349 2824
Hammersmith and Fulham 020 8846 6812
