Covid: Middlesbrough health boss bemoans clunky consent forms

Parental consent for jabs needs to be provided 48 hours before they are administered in school

The "clunky" paper consent forms being used to allow a town's youngsters to be vaccinated are in danger of causing delays, a health boss has said. 

The programme to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds has begun in some Middlesbrough schools, with letters being sent out to parents. 

However, the local public health director told councillors there had been issues getting forms back in time.

The NHS said a new digital portal would soon allow families to opt-in online.

Parental consent for jabs needs to be provided 48 hours before they are administered in school.

South Tees public health director Mark Adams told a health scrutiny panel that the paper-based process was "pretty clunky", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said schools were finding it "quite difficult to mobilise in the limited time they've had available" and the "consent turnaround" was really important to get the number being vaccinated "as high as we possibly can".

The Harrogate and District NHS trust, which operates the school-based service, said the forms were a temporary measure.

It said a digital portal was due to go live in the coming days and families would be sent a link.

Paper consent forms will still be available for parents or guardians who were unable to access the digital portal.