MMR Survey ~ The Details
Between November 2002 and May 2003 we invited parents who bring their children to Northlands to take part in a research survey. We believe it's a sign of how seriously parents who opt for single vaccinations take the subject that more than 60% took the time to complete and return the three page form. And more than 90% were happy to have us quote their views.
The first part of our MMR Vaccinations Survey asked parents about our services.
We started by asking how they originally heard about Dr Mike Debenham and Northlands. This is important to us, because - compared with the millions of public money that the Government spends promoting MMR - our marketing budget is barely even a drop in a teacup. And we were delighted to find that the old saying still holds true - the best marketing in the world is word of mouth. Our single biggest source of new clients is personal recommendation.
We then asked parents about
specific aspects of our service:
> Our response to parents' initial enquiries
> Our answers to parents' questions
> Our directions to find Northlands
> Parents' reception at Northlands
> How promptly parents and their children were seen
> How parents felt the vaccination went
> How the child felt during the vaccination and
afterwards
> How we responded to any request for aftercare
> How helpful our website was
Here are some of the comments we received (all quotations are used with permission):
'Excellent service.' Mrs B G,
Norfolk
'Impressed by speaking to the Doctor himself when booking appointment ... no problems at
all ... very relaxed and no tears.' Mr & Mrs S G, Suffolk
'Everything was fantastic.' Miss L S, Suffolk
'Dr Debenham's secretary was extremely helpful and polite, as was Dr Debenham ...
so refreshing not to feel rushed.' Mrs W, Suffolk
'Very reassuring.' Miss S, Suffolk
'Thank you for helping us to choose without any pressure.' Mr & Mrs N,
Essex
'An excellent service that I could not fault ... [website] informative and user
friendly.' Mrs B, Suffolk
'Your service is excellent.' Mrs C E, Suffolk
'I was very nervous about the whole thing ... you made us feel much more
comfortable.' Mrs N, Cambridge
'Lovely. Warm and friendly.' Mr & Mrs E, Norfolk
'Excellent on all points.' Miss S, Norfolk
And Mrs L of Suffolk showed her sense of humour in answering how
her daughter felt during and after the vaccination: 'She was not able to tell us, but did
not complain at all.'
A very few parents asked us to put more information about the combined MMR vaccination on our FAQs page.
Our FAQs page has two objectives: to inform parents about the practicalities of single vaccinations, and to help parents make their own informed choice between combined MMR and single vaccinations.
The latter is a vast subject. Our FAQs page provides information about some of the ways in which the UK authorities have tried to mislead parents about MMR, and about the reasons why single vaccinations are believed to be safer. But short of making it the longest FAQs page in the history of the web, we feel that the best solution is to provide links to other sites offering much more detailed information both for and against combined MMR. You'll find these links at the end of our FAQs page.
And we attracted a couple of critical comments on our parking facilities:
'The practice and service are
excellent. The only difficulty we had was the parking area became rather muddy in
the rain.' Mr B, Essex
'The only suggestion I have is more parking facilities.' Miss A, Norfolk
We're working on these. Our current plan is to pass a byelaw banning rain in the area, also to convert the paddock opposite into a multi-storey car park. Being realistic, both of these may take a while. We currently have space for about five cars at a time, so it's rarely a problem.
Yes, it's rocking
horses for vaccine courses (arrrrgh)
(Anglia News, December 4th 2002 - photo used with permission)
And now to the more 'political' questions we asked parents.
An important introductory point - the parents we surveyed have all chosen the single vaccines alternative to combined MMR for their children. In no way are we suggesting that these views reflect those of parents who opt for combined MMR. Here's a small but representative selection of the answers we received (all quotations are used with permission):
> What initially persuaded you to consider the single vaccine alternative to MMR?
'The Prime Minister's refusal
to come clean about whether his son had had the MMR.' Mr & Mrs C,
Suffolk
'Press reports and conversations with other mums.' Ms P, Suffolk
'Tony Blair refused to confirm Leo had the MMR, and this caused a lot of worry.' Mr
B, Essex
'TV and articles in the national press. Also, visiting the JABS website and reading
how many families had been affected, we found this very sad.' Mr & Mrs S
G, Suffolk
'Tony Blair would not confirm whether or not his son had been vaccinated.' Mr
A L, Suffolk
'When Tony Blair would not tell us whether his son had the MMR.' Mrs C M,
Cambridge
'The way the Government dismisses any evidence it doesn't like out of hand.' Mr
& Mrs N, Essex
'If it's not good enough for the Prime Minister's son it's not good enough for ours.'
Mrs F, Herts
'A visit to the JABS website, and conversations with friends and relatives.' Miss
S, Suffolk
'We didn't believe the Government propaganda ... and why wouldn't Tony Blair answer the
question?' Mrs F B, Bristol
'The Government's response to the medical research and refusing to allow parents a
choice.' Mrs C, Suffolk
'The more we heard the less we trusted the Government line. Blair avoiding the issue
was the last straw.' Mr & Mrs D, Cambridge
'The PM cannot even say whether Leo had MMR or single, so how can we follow his lead?'
Mrs B G, Norfolk
> Do you believe Government assurances that MMR is safe?
'No, the opinions are all
one-sided.' Ms P, Suffolk
'No, they always sound so smug and know it all.' Mr & Mrs R, Berkshire
'All the "research" they talk about seems to be re-studying stuff that's already
been done.' Mr & Mrs C, Suffolk
'They have never given assurances that fully satisfy me.' Miss S, Norfolk
'No, just cannot believe in anything they say.' Mrs B G, Norfolk
'If they really believe it's safe why don't they carry out some proper research?' Mr
L J, Northern Ireland
'No. I understand they cannot prove it causes autism but neither can they prove it
doesn't ... we are not prepared to take that risk with our precious daughter.' Mr
& Mrs S G, Suffolk
'No, I don't, I think the worst thing is that Tony Blair never did say whether or not his
son had had it done.' Miss A, Norfolk
'No, they have not put forward any reasons why the rise in autism and Crohn's disease
coincided with the MMR, or what else could be causing this increase.' Mrs S
C, Northants
'No. We do not believe that the combined vaccine is safe judging on their previous
track record of infromation given out.' Mrs L, Suffolk
'The Government seems to assume that parents are idiots.' Mr & Mrs H,
London
'No. We were told that BSE wasn't a concern initially, and then the response
changed.' Mr P B, Essex
'No, because Japan tried it and then rejected it believing it to be unsafe.' Miss
S, Suffolk
'No. They have not provided any evidence to prove that there are no links between
Crohn's, autism and MMR. Were they to admit there might be risks the adverse
publicity would severely damage them.' Mrs B, Suffolk
'They just don't seem to take parents' concerns seriously.' Mrs D P,
Cambridge
'No, the Government has lied on so many issues, why should I believe them now?' Mrs
E J, Surrey
'No. Their track record is not reassuring and they don't seem to want to debate the
issue.' Mrs C, Suffolk
'No. The Government tell people what they want them to hear.' Mr P C,
Norfolk
'There seems to be a refusal to acknowledge anyone else's opinion.' Mr &
Mrs E, Norfolk
> Did you discuss the subject with your GP, Health Visitor or any other NHS staff?
'I tried, but the GP made me
feel as if I was being difficult.' Mrs M H, Cambridge
'Yes, discussed with GP who was very supportive, understood our concerns and although had
to give out Government line of MMR is okay, seemed underneath to be very
non-commital. Seemed quite happy for us to search out single vaccines.' Mr
& Mrs C, Suffolk
'Some pressure was used to persuade me to have MMR, usually in the form of appointments
being made by nurses ... the Doctor did not use pressure and lots of nurses were
sympathetic.' Miss S, Norfolk
'Our GP was very supportive of the single jabs ... no pressure to have the MMR, quite the
opposite.' Mrs B G, Norfolk
'My GP refused to discuss the matter.' Mrs E, London
'I did not discuss the matter with my GP or Health Visitor. I did speak to friends
who are medics and was unconvinced by their response.' Mrs C E, Suffolk
'No. A friend told me about the pressure she had been put under, so I decided it was
up to us to choose.' Mr & Mrs R, Cambridge
'No. I had already made up my mind.' Miss L S, Suffolk
'I discussed it with my Health Visitor and GP. Neither put any pressure on me, they
just said as long as I was going to have one or the other so that my son was covered.'
Miss A, Norfolk
'I discussed it with my Health Visitor who tried to dissuade me from the single vaccines,
stating there was no evidence the MMR was of any danger. I did feel stupid for even
asking about the single vaccines, so I took it upon myself to look into the subject.'
Mrs S C, Northants
'We spoke to the Health Visitor, but she was unable to convince us that the combined
vaccine was safe.' Mrs L, Suffolk
'Our GP and Health Visitor were both extremely helpful ... no pressure to accept the MMR.'
Mr A L, Suffolk
'Our GP was very supportive, but the Health Visitor was quite aggressive on the subject.'
Mr & Mrs D, Essex
'Both my GP and two Health Visitors reassured me MMR was safe, but did also encourage me
to make my own enquiries if I wasn't sure.' Mrs W, Suffolk
'I talked to my GP about MMR, its side-effects and if any alternatives were
available. She didn't pressure me, but said my choice was between MMR or leaving my
child unvaccinated.' Miss S, Suffolk
'Our GP understood our concerns, but admitted there was nothing he could do to help.'
Mrs F, Cheshire
'My GP and Health Visitor both took it for granted that my son would receive the MMR, and
were quite forceful in trying to persuade me to go ahead. I have since changed both,
and my current ones are much better.' Mrs B, Suffolk
> Why do you think the NHS makes it so difficult to obtain the single vaccine alternative?
'Cost and the Government
cannot do a U-turn.' Ms P, Suffolk
'It runs a nanny state and wants everyone to conform.' Mrs J T, Essex
'Cost and the Government not wanting to lose face.' Mr & Mrs C, Suffolk
'The Government and NHS want the minimum of fuss and expense.' Mr B, Essex
'They cannot be seen to back down.' Mrs B G, Norfolk
'Convenience and cost. They just don't care.' Mr & Mrs D, Herts
'The reasons are political and financial.' Mrs C E, Suffolk
'They don't want to be proved wrong. It seems to be their way or no way.' Mr
& Mrs S G, Suffolk
'They are bullying people into MMR. You will have MMR or nothing.' Miss
J F, Suffolk
'Cost, but also avoiding embarrassment in backing down ... more political than in the
interests of the health of our children.' Mrs S C, Northants
'If the single vaccines were now to be made available it would be an admission of concern
over the safety of the MMR.' Mrs B, Suffolk
'So they can save face. They don't want to look as if they were wrong.' Mr
P C, Norfolk
'Because they're determined to carry on their programme, regardless of consequences.'
Mr & Mrs E, Norfolk
'Pure thick-headed arrogance!' Mrs W, Suffolk
> What was the most important factor in your decision to opt
for separate vaccinations?
'The safety of our
child.' Mrs B E, Lincolnshire
'If we gave our son the MMR and then he suffered autism or bowel problems we would always
feel that somehow we were to blame.' Mr & Mrs C, Suffolk
'We did not want to risk finding out in five years that MMR was unsafe.' Mr
B, Essex
'One vaccine [at a time] rather than three [at once] must surely be common sense.' Miss
S, Norfolk
'There are too many unanswered questions about MMR.' Mr K G, Cambridge
'We just didn't want to take the risk of anything going wrong that we could
prevent.' Mrs B G, Norfolk
'My child's health.' Mrs C A, Suffolk
'We wouldn't forgive ourselves if the worst were to happen and we knew we might have been
able to prevent it by opting out of MMR.' Mr & Mrs S G, Suffolk
'We were unwilling to take a risk, no matter how small, with the health of our children.'
Miss J F, Suffolk
'To protect our son.' Mrs S C, Northants
'Our child's health.' Mr A L, Suffolk
'My sister's son became autistic soon after receiving MMR. I didn't feel I could
take the risk.' Mrs G, London
'The silence of Tony and Cherie Blair as to whether their own son had been given the
combined jab.' Mrs W, Suffolk
'I was not prepared to risk my child's health with a controversial vaccine.' Miss
S, Suffolk
'Our son is the most wonderful gift in the world ... we will not take risks with his
health.' Mr & Mrs H, Kent
'My child's wellbeing.' Mrs B, Suffolk
'We felt the single vaccine route presented less risk.' Mrs C, Suffolk
'The safety of our child. If anything happened we would feel responsible.' Mr
P C, Norfolk
It's clear that parents who opt for single vaccinations take the whole subject very seriously, and have strong views about almost every aspect. They don't trust the Government, and their concerns have been greatly increased by Tony Blair's stance on the issue. More than anything, their absolute priority is the health and safety of their children.
Again, many thanks to all the parents who helped with this survey.
Your Child ~ Your Choice