Saturday jab clinic opens to ease family trips and waits

A community clinic in London has begun running Saturday vaccination sessions alongside weekday appointments, so parents who cannot attend during school or work hours can bring children for catch-ups without rearranging shifts or childcare.

The move lands against a mixed national picture: NHS Digital’s childhood immunisation statistics for 2023–24 put England-wide MMR first-dose coverage at 88.9% by 24 months, while UKHSA updates for the year to March 2025 place London lower at around 80.8%, indicating room for local clinics that shorten travel and queue time for families.

Practical details are simple: doors open mid-morning through early afternoon with timed slots and a small walk-in buffer; reception teams log a median check-in to jab time to keep turnarounds predictable, and a side room handles siblings so one trip covers multiple children.

Access is built into the layout, with step-free routes from bus stops and on-site interpreter booking for the most requested languages; staff keep laminated consent information and after-care notes so parents can review details at home without a second visit.

Parents who miss school-day call-ups can use the weekend clinic to close gaps before term events, and practices nearby report fewer repeat invites when families choose a Saturday slot over a mid-week absence, easing follow-up lists for nurses who run routine childhood schedules.

Day to day, the change is modest but practical—a short queue, a clear consent form, and a recorded jab that updates the child’s record the same afternoon—while organisers watch weekly attendance and the share of two-sibling visits to judge whether extended hours steadily lift local uptake through 2025.

16 November 2025 19:28 By London Health News Desk