Immunisation for Registered Practitioners in General Practice

This course is designed for registered practitioners including RGNs midwives, paramedics or pharmacists who are preparing to deliver immunisations under Patient Group Directions (PGDs) in community settings such as: general practice, schools, maternity care services, pharmacies, or long-term care settings.

Delegates having attended the course may also require a period of supervised practice before attaining competence in delivering vaccines and they are recommended to demonstrate this by completing the competence document provided at the training day.

Course Description

Course content is based on the document ‘National Minimum Standards and Core Curriculum for Vaccination Training’ (UKHSA June 2025) and the RCN Travel Competency document ‘Travel health nursing: career and competence development’ (RCN Updated 2024) and covers the following areas:

 

The immune system
Terminology and how vaccines work

Vaccine policy
Vaccine preventable diseases in relation to UK immunisation schedules
How UK policy is produced and implemented
Importance of taking a full immunisation history

Legal Issues
Obtaining consent for immunisations
Prescribing Vaccines (PGDs)
Documentation

Administration of the vaccines
Routes of administration including injections, oral and Nasal routes

 

Finding and using Resources
The Green Book and ‘Vaccine Update’
Child Immunisation Schedules
Vaccine information for patients and parents

 

Vaccine storage and delivery
Understanding how to store vaccines safely to prevention of wastage

Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy

Considering strategies to improve uptake of immunisations in the UK

An Introduction to Travel Health provision in general Practice
The travel health risk assessment
NHS and private travel vaccines
Identifying services for patients requiring non-NHS travel advice