A new programme to vaccinate school-leavers and new university and college students against meningitis B has started well.
Since the campaign launched in June this year uptake of the vaccine has been good, according to a report delivered to the NHS Dumfries and Galloway Board this week.
The meningitis B vaccine, offered for a limited time, will help protect students against the risk of serious illness as they move into new accommodation and start the academic year. NHS Dumfries and Galloway offers the vaccine to all 2025-26 S6 pupils in the region and all children born between 1 March 2008 and 28 February 2009, whether they are going on to higher education or not.
The vaccine is also available to everyone under 25 starting university, or starting college in shared accommodation, in the 2026-27 academic year. Anyone eligible who has not yet received the vaccination is encouraged to call the local vaccination centre on 01387 403090 or email dg.vaccinationenquiries@nhs.scot.
Meanwhile, screening for a symptomless and potentially life-threatening condition is continuing to bring real health benefits in Dumfries and Galloway, with over a thousand men tested in 2024-25 for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).
Fewer than 10 men in the region were found to have a large AAA, but another 90 with smaller AAAs are undergoing regular monitoring checks, the Board heard.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway director of public health Valerie White said: “I’m very pleased with how our AAA screening programme has gone. Dumfries and Galloway performs well in this programme – everyone eligible was invited for screening on time, and the vast majority of men with existing AAAs got their regular monitoring checkups on schedule.
“Any men over 65 in Dumfries and Galloway who have not yet been screened for AAA should get in touch with our AAA screening centre as soon as possible. Early detection and early monitoring are a vital part of treating this potentially very dangerous condition.
“In particular, people from disadvantaged areas in the region are less likely to get themselves tested, and this could be leaving them open to the risk of a very serious illness – this year we will be making special efforts to close that gap.”
The screening programme has been helped by a video featuring Alec Little, a Dumfries man whose AAA was detected and treated as part of the screening programme in 2021.
“There’s no way of knowing whether you’ve got one or not unless you have the scan,” Mr Little said. “When I got the letter myself I didn’t really know what it was …. But I’m glad I did go, and I’d advise everyone who does get the letter to go.”
The report also highlighted the need for women and those born with a cervix to accept invitations from their GPs to cervical screening. The screening programme has been much more successful in Dumfries and Galloway than in most other parts of Scotland, but it is still falling short of national targets, the Board heard. In the latest official figures, around half of those invited to a screening appointment actually took up the offer, and the figure was significantly lower for those living in the areas facing the highest levels of deprivation.
“Our focus last year, this year and in the future will be to make sure that as many women as possible who are invited can take up the opportunity to get screened,” Ms White said. “Cervical screening is a vital part of preventative health. It can find early signs and prevent serious disease.
“We will be working with our colleagues in community health care to help as many as possible to take part, and I would encourage anyone who receives an invitation to cervical screening to take up the offer.”
The Board were also updated on other work being progressed: to support organisational shifts in focus towards preventing ill health, working with Community Planning Partners to help shape conditions that support good health, and on the range of work undertaken by community-based Public Health Improvement teams and Community Link Workers.
The Public Health Committee also advised that they had approved an updated Anchor Organisation Plan which outlines the work the Board will take forward to support employment opportunities, support local businesses through procurement process and supporting community use of land and assets which aligns well with the ambitions of the new Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Act.
The AAA screening video is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
More information about meningitis B is available from NHS Inform at https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/immunisation/meningococcal-b-menb-vaccine-for-young-people/