Measles outbreak exposes hospital vaccination gaps

Hundreds of front line NHS staff have received the MMR jab, following an "unprecedented" outbreak of measles at a Worcestershire hospital.

In May, seven positive cases of the highly contagious disease were reported at Worcestershire Royal.

Vulnerable patients - including a pregnant woman - required preventative medicine, while some unvaccinated staff had to isolate for 21 days.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said a review of 8,500 staff had revealed that more than a quarter in patient-facing roles had not been vaccinated or lacked natural immunity. More than 400 have now received the jab.

The three-month measles outbreak, which was declared over on 24 July, was described as "unprecedented" by the Worcestershire Acute's quality governance committee.

According to the hospital trust's board papers for July, the infections included two members of staff working on a higher risk ward.

Three vulnerable hospital patients - a pregnant woman and two patients who had received organ transplants - received Human Normal Immunoglobulin, a preventative medicine containing antibodies to fight infection.

Contact tracing was carried out to identify how many people may have been infected. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said cases were also identified in the community.

At the time of the outbreak, Dame Julie Moore, a non-executive director at the trust, expressed concern about "the lack of a robust process" for checking the vaccination status of staff.

July's board papers detail how she also "raised the patient safety implications of unvaccinated clinical staff".

Measles cases have been on the rise in the West Midlands.

So far this year, 29 cases have been recorded in Worcestershire, according to UKHSA.

These include 16 cases between 11 May and 8 June.

In 2026, England has registered two deaths to children as a result of measles.

"Measles can spread quickly among those who are unvaccinated and can cause serious complications especially in young children, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems," said Emma Booth, consultant in health protection and the vaccine lead for UKHSA West Midlands.

"We encourage all adults to check they have had two doses of MMR or contact their GP surgery if they are unsure, and book an appointment for any doses missed," she said.

Simon Adams, the chair of patient advocacy group Healthwatch Worcestershire, said: "It's really disappointing to hear that the hospital could be, if you like, such a hotspot.

"If we go into hospitals, as patients, we want to be safe. If you work in a hospital, in whatever role, you want to be safe. And the way of being safe is being vaccinated."

He added the trust had an obligation to make sure staff in a patient-facing role were vaccinated.

In a statement, the trust said: "In terms of our staff we follow national guidelines around vaccinations."

To work inside the NHS, all frontline and clinical healthcare workers are recommended by NHS England to have documented evidence of two MMR doses or positive immunity.

However, there is currently no mandatory legal requirement.

As part of its response to the outbreak, the trust said on-site vaccine clinics had boosted the percentage of vaccinated patient-facing staff from 72% to 94%.

It said it had also "strengthened oversight and monitoring" of staff immunisation, including reviewing pre-employment checks and requiring volunteers and work experience placements to show evidence of vaccination.

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Why are measles cases rising in the UK?

Measles cases rise in Kent and Medway

Alert over adult measles cases in Worcestershire