Last year in Sheffield only 85% of children had received both vaccines by age five, the dose necessary to protect against measles for life. The World Health Organisation set a target of 95%.

Ruth Granger, Consultant on Public Health, told a meeting of Sheffield City Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board on March 28: “The underlying reason for an outbreak in the first place is an insufficient uptake of MMR vaccination in different communities in our city.”

Measles is a highly infectious disease but it is preventable through vaccination and it can have serious health implications for children.

Dr Leigh Sorsbie said: “In North Sheffield, where the average immunisation rate is one thing, in localised areas it looks very different and risk is much higher.”

The varying immunisation rates in different areas of the city have been explained by socioeconomic factors, a meeting of Sheffield City Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board heard on 28 March. 

Ruth Granger suggested implementing similar methods to those used in Leeds involving working with schools, likely to be trusted by parents, to provide information to and catch-up doses to children.

Greg Fell, Director of Public Health in Sheffield, said: “I would ask the School Age Immunisation Service to do opportunistic vaccinations in schools in areas with the lowest uptake because it will almost certainly pay off.” 

Dr Zac McMurray, chair of the committee, added: “The way that the national contract is set at the moment around financial rewards for hitting targets, most of the targets are totally impossible to reach.”

He added that 20% of practices in the most deprived parts of the country get 14% less income than practices in the least deprived areas. 

He said: “It is bonkers.

“At what point do we say let’s change the system because it’s harming people.

“It does feel like we are up against a system that is absolutely insane and we need to keep reiterating that that is not acceptable.”