Richmond Heritage Medical Clinic furore: 2000 kids need new jabs after bungle

Families are furious after discovering that childhood immunisations since 2019 will have to be redone after a Sydney medical clinic made one big mistake.

Almost 2000 children will have to be revaccinated because of a bungle in Sydney’s outer west where a medical clinic did not store vaccines at the correct temperature.

NSW Health has been forced to step in and run special vaccine clinics next week to help families catch up on childhood immunisations following the “cold chain storage breach” at the Richmond-based Heritage Medical Clinic.

As a result of the bungle, the department will also conduct random audits of vaccine storage systems at medical practices and pharmacies across the state, and will write to all immunisation service providers and doctors to remind them to properly check on their vaccines and store them correctly.

The vaccines — for whooping cough, polio, measles, mumps and rubella, as well as Covid — were stored at temperatures that were too low from April 17, 2019, until January 30, 2023.

Local health district officials have now sent letters to 1600 patients encouraging them to seek revaccination because the vaccines “may be less effective due to incorrect storage”.

About 2000 children will have to be revaccinated because a Richmond-based clinic did not store vaccines at the correct temperature. Picture: AFP

“There is no risk of harm from the vaccines themselves,” the letter states.

“However, as temperatures were outside acceptable ranges, the vaccines may not have been effective at preventing a range of diseases.”

Although the readministration of the vaccines will be free, furious parents vented on local community social media sites, with many saying they did not want to subject their children to up to eight needle jabs again in a short period of time.

“I am absolutely gutted about this and so upset for my kids,” one mum said.

Heritage Medical Clinic in Richmond is under fire after failing to store vaccines properly.

“Not only for the fact that they now have to go through so many needles again (they all need around 8 vaccines readministered) but because they have been potentially exposed to so many illnesses these past few years with no protection.”

A NSW Health spokeswoman said the Nepean Blue Mountains Local District Public Health Unit had undertaken an “extensive investigation of the incident and had worked with the GP practice to identify all the patients affected.

“Children five years of age and under have been provided with individualised catch-up schedules,” she said.

Some local families have requested a blood test to check immunity, to avoid having to get the vaccines again.

“Testing for immunity to determine the need for revaccination is complex and is not generally recommended, but can be discussed on an ­individual basis with the healthcare provider,” the NSW Health spokeswoman said.

She said that while NSW Health did not have responsibility for GPs, it “works with medical practices to assist GPs to manage vaccines correctly”.

“In response to this breach, NSW Health has written to immunisation service providers across NSW to remind them of their responsibility to store vaccines properly, and to properly monitor and record vaccine storage data,” she said.

The immunisation clinic will be run next week in Richmond.

The Heritage Medical Clinic has been approached for comment.