County GPs to give 'cancer jab'

Human papilloma virus can be sexually-transmitted

Teenage girls in Derbyshire are getting a vaccine to protect them against cervical cancer this autumn.

The county is one of only a few places in the UK where the injections will be given at GP surgeries on the NHS rather than at schools.

The vaccine is being offered to 12 and 13-year-olds for the first time from September as part of a national government vaccination programme.

The vaccine, human papillomavirus (HPV), has already been used in the US.

Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust has written to all schools and parents whose daughters are not registered with a GP to inform them of the programme.

A PCT spokesman said Derbyshire GPs have a very good track of successfully delivering vaccination programmes to children and young people.

Dr Claire Stevens at Appletree Medical Practice, Belper, said: "We're delighted that this new vaccine is to be delivered through GP practices as many young girls and their families will be greatly reassured by having this vaccine in a familiar setting, where the GPs know the family/carers well."

Girls receiving the vaccine will need to have three injections over several months to get the best protection.

The jab is being given at GPs in Cornwall and parts of Birmingham as well as Derbyshire.

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Derbyshire has a good record of immunisation