The Doctor's Engagement

Holly gave a sympathetic nod. ‘It seems like a difficult decision, I know, but the number of children who have had a bad reaction to immunisation is such a tiny minority of the millions who have been immunised.’

Sylvia bit her lip. ‘But can you guarantee there’s no risk?’

‘No,’ Holly said honestly. ‘All vaccinations carry an element of risk, but you have to measure that against the risk of the illness itself. Measles, mumps and rubella are highly infectious diseases, and if children catch them they can suffer serious problems.’

‘But you so rarely see those diseases now,’ Sylvia murmured, and Holly gave a gentle smile.

‘And that’s thanks to the success of our vaccination programme.’

‘That’s what my mum says,’ Sylvia mumbled. ‘A cousin of hers died of measles when my mum was young but, of course, we don’t see it any more so you forget it can be serious.’

Holly nodded. ‘Absolutely.’

Sylvia gave a groan. ‘Oh, I don’t know what to do...’

‘What does your husband think?’

‘He leaves all the decisions like that to me.’ Sylvia rolled her eyes. ‘Men! Oh, well, I suppose I’d better have her done.’

Holly frowned slightly. ‘Don’t feel coerced, Sylvia. It’s important that you feel comfortable with your decision. Would you like to go away and think about it and come back on another occasion?’

‘No.’ Sylvia shook her head. ‘Definitely not. If she caught the illnesses I’d never forgive myself. Just do it, please!’

Debra scribbled down the batch number of the immunisation in the child health record and Holly quickly gave the injection.

‘There we are.’ She handed the child a toy and gave Sylvia a patient information leaflet. ‘She may be a little fractious tonight and with MMR they sometimes develop a mild reaction seven to ten days after the injection.’

Sylvia tucked the leaflet into her handbag. ‘What sort of reaction?’

‘They sometimes get a rash and a fever,’ Holly explained. ‘The leaflet gives you all the information you need, but if you have any worries at all, just give us a call.’

‘Thanks.’ Sylvia scooped up the toddler and her handbag and made for the door. ‘And thanks for taking the time to explain.’

‘You’re welcome,’ Holly said quietly, and Debra looked at her with admiration as the door closed.

‘Gosh, you’re good at that.’

‘Good at what?

’ Holly popped the needle into the sharps bin and washed her hands.

‘Good at giving a balanced explanation,’ Debra said. ‘You listened to her fears and you gave her the facts without forcing her in either direction. I gather you’ve had a lot of practice at it.’

‘Well, the last MMR scare that was in the papers certainly affected people badly, and who can blame them?’ Holly frowned and shook her head, her blonde ponytail swinging jauntily. ‘Those scare headlines do nothing for the confidence of the public.’

‘I know.’ Debra crossed Sylvia’s name off her list. ‘We had a similar problem with that HRT scare. The surgery phone never stopped ringing and the doctors spent an entire week seeing nothing but worried women taking HRT.’

‘So how are we doing?’ Holly glanced over her shoulder. ‘Just Mrs Watts left?’

‘That’s right.’ Debra stood up and adjusted her blouse. ‘I’ll give her a shout.’

Anna Watts was a pale, quiet girl in her mid-twenties and she arrived with the baby in a car seat.

‘How have you been, Anna?’ Debra asked gently, helping her unstrap the baby from the car seat.

‘Fine.’ Anna lifted the baby up gingerly and settled him on her lap, holding the small bundle awkwardly.

Holly frowned. New mothers weren’t usually so uncommunicative. Of course, Anna might just be a shy person, but still...