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Real-world impact: Barts Charity Impact Report features the work of our Child Health team, which has improved timely MMR vaccination in North East London by 4.1%

Funding from Barts Charity enabled a CEG clinical effectiveness programme to improve timeliness and equity of childhood immunisations, including the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. 

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The programme launched in 2022 with a software tool built in-house to assist GP practices with ‘call and recall’ (calling children for the right vaccination at the right time). The childhood immunisation schedule is complex, with multiple doses needing to be given at the right age and with the right gaps in between to be fully effective. The software tool, ‘APL-Imms’, makes it easier for practice teams to see which children are due or overdue for immunisations, and to see key information about each child so they can tailor their approach to parents. Our team of CEG primary care facilitators are also on-hand to support practices to embed the tool into their processes.

We published an evaluation of the programme in 2025, which found that the proportion of children receiving the first dose of MMR on time increased by 4.1%. The paper was published in Vaccine, and we have also produced a one-page summary: Childhood Immunisations programme - Research summary [PDF 200KB]. 

Childhood immunisation rates remain alarmingly low across England, and particularly in London. We also know that children do not have equal chance of immunisation – rates are lower in deprived areas, and in children from some ethnic backgrounds. The problem is multifactorial, but we have shown that this clinical effectiveness model does help to protect more children on time. We are hugely grateful for the support of Barts Charity to make this programme a reality.

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