To expect the Doctor to respect my wishes?

[loumum3]

I have not vaccinated my youngest child. I have done this after much research and made an informed decision. The Doctor's surgery has phoned me several times now and written requesting I go in for a discussion about this. I haven't got time for a visit to discuss this, nor do I want to so I said if I had to, I could talk about it on the phone....I have had the Doctor on the phone this afternoon grilling me about my choices, really trying to scare me into having the jabs done and trying to make me feel bad. She cannot see my point of view at all and has been very rude.

Is is really too much to expect a Doctor to respect the decisions I make about my own children ?

Has anyone else experienced this ?

I thought it was dangerous for vaccinated children if other children around them are not vaccinated, something to do with the viruses developing stronger strains? But I may well be wrong here, I'm not a doctor.

Really hope you are ok websticks

websticks, hope all goes okay for you.
OP, it is totally your decision and you obviously have given it a lot of thought. personally i feel there is a much greater risk of harm by not inecting children, but as youve said there have been bad eactions. id just prepare yourself for a lifetime of nagging about this.

there is a poster on here (imarriedafrog) whose GP logged her children as having had their jabs when they hadn't... we presume so he could get paid for it.
she was not impressed.

GP's commit fraud to claim bonuses

and of course , not having vaccinations is risk in itself.......and should be taken in to consideration when not having them for health reasons.

its a very difficult choice to make, refusing them.

certainly when others are making the same choices, and those diseases are returning.

and of course the big question every parents must ask themselves, if the child did catch one of those normally vacinated diseases, and was one of the unlucky ones to have long term side effects from it, would they be happy with your choice?
how do we as parents assess that risk?

btw my cousin had brain damage from whooping cough, and my aunt, was born with a deformed back, because her mother caught measles when pregnant.

I've not heard that one before...

You may feel uncomfortable giving little ones injections. I certainly did. I felt awful every time.

However, I'd have felt a lot worse if dd had caught any of the illnesses she was vaccinated against. A lot worse.

However, back to the OP (and I don't want this to dissolve into a pro/anti vaccination thread): what you decide is up to you.

atm they are being offered bonuses for swine flu vaccines too, and double bonuses if they get more than 70% vaccinated.

your GP has to give the party line on vaccinations, so i don't think they are the place for impartial advice on them either

Isn't a £2800 bonus peanuts to a doctor?

To achieve herd immunity, 95% of children need to be vaccinated.

Reaching this level of coverage means those who have not had the jab are also protected as immunity levels are so high that an infection cannot take hold within a community.

I would think so in comparison to their wages already.

The GP is doing what she thinks best for your child. It's her job. You don't agree with her but that doesn't alter that fact that she is concerned.

I mean, to someone on a GPs salary? Still - if it goes to the practice... No wonder there's so much pressure from the surgery... I'm not sure that giving money for jabs is healthy, at all. How are GPs able to be biased if they're paid like this?

Anyway, I have to put the children to bed now, thanks for your thoughts.

Oh dear I meant unbiased... freudian slip..

doctors also get bonuses for getting people to stop smoking and to lose weight.

It's because it is good for the health of the nation.

Just as a national immunisation programme is.

Don't any of you see the irony of saying to websticks 'well you must have had the jabs so you should be OK'. Why should she have to be put at risk? In other countries you cannot enrol your children at state schools/pre-schools without having the injection. If you had to home-educate your little darlings to stand by your principles would you?

What about the next generation? At the moment we are all still fairly well protected by herd immunity but if more people decide not to vaccinate their children for frankly dubious reasons then god help your kids and their kids.

thisisyesterday, It ok having that attitude. but how would you feel if your child became seriously ill by your choice not to vacinate or your unborn childs life was at risk?

Sorry had to pop back when I saw the bit about home educating....we do that too, so yes I do stand by my principles.

I didn't want this to turn into a vaccine thread, I just want the Doctor to leave me alone now, we have been discussing this on and off for 15 months and I feel she should respect my decision.

Herecomesthesciencebit put it better than me.

Both my grandfathers were founding GPs when the NHS was started. They saw a massive drop in the infant mortality rate when vaccinations were introduced.

Their interests were in stopping children from dying needlessly, not 'lining their pockets'

To suggest otherwise is hugely offensive.

My personal opinion is that those who do not vaccinate their children are reckless and do not truly understand the science behind it.

oh dear god.
Conspiracy theorists of the world unite!

The vast majority of the medical profession are in agreement that vaccination saves lives.

GPs are paid according to hitting targets that are in line with providing "quality" care, part of which is doing things like providing vaccinations and smear tests etc.

The vast majority of patients will make their children attend for vaccination according to the agreed national schedule: no GP is going to waste their time chasing the odd parent for a "bonus"! I suspect actually the GP was worried that you don't understand the risks posed by the diseases being vaccinated against, as opposed to the risks of having the vaccine.

I suspect it has just been too long since we have all experienced children dying or being severely disabled by measles etc and therefore it feels like we are vaccinating for no good reason. I imagine those in the third world would be very grateful if you could send your unused vaccine there.

Incidentally, I think you are entitled not to feel bullied if you decline something offered to you by the NHS. Not so sure you are entitled to this when you are opting to leave your children exposed to dangerous illness though.

I am very concerned that you are not willing to have a rational face to face discussion with a health care professional regarding such a serious decision. Maybe you could speak to a different GP or even a hospital specialist. Declining vaccination for your child risks not only their long term health but also that of all other children. This is due to herd immunity. Are you fully aware of the possible long term complications following measles and mumps? Please try to find a healthcare professional you can talk to and ensure you really have all your facts so you can make an informed decision.

You have to earn respect - if your GP feels you not understand what you are doing she/he has a responsibility to ensure you do. After all she/he has to think of your child's health, not your bruised ego.

I suggest that if you were truly comfortable with your decision and, as a qualified medical doctor (which I doubt you are) had made that decision with ALL the evidence to hand, and without some preconceived notion that 'vaccinations are bad', then you wouldn't be asking this question.

Why does it bother you? Why not just shrug it off? Or do you have nagging fear that you have made a reckless decision and you don't want to be reminded of it?

Currently in the UK we have not reached herd immunity for measles since the MMR scare despite the link to autism being discredited. This could lead to an epidemic.

Generally I believe that vaccinations are a good thing.

For those who have chosen not to have any vaccinations - was there any specific research that led you to this decision? Just interested as I did not do any research!

I will never get the kids to bed at this rate !

I have had 2 meetings face to face already and I feel that now they should leave me alone.

Loumum3, I admire you for having the courage to stick yo your convictions despite the majority objections. I have to warn you that this is the beginning of many battles though. My friend has 4 extremely healthy dcs who have never been vaccinated against anything. They are teens/early 20's now and have always visited the homeopath before their GP. She has had many skirmishes over the years with GPs, health visitors and schools, but made her decision based on thorough research, backed by her DH. I do feel that we are scared into making such decisions by people that don't always know best