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A regional branch of the British Medical Association has called to ‘terminate’ plans to extend community pharmacy vaccination services.

Three motions put forward for debate at the BMA’s Annual Representative Meeting in Brighton on June 22-24 raise concerns around the Government’s plans to commission pharmacies to deliver vaccination programmes including meningitis B and RSV.

The motions have not been prioritised for debate and are “unlikely to be reached unless they are voted as chosen motions,” the conference agenda specifies.

In its motion, the North East regional council calls on the conference to note “the looming disaster that is falling vaccination rates” and demand “the termination of plans to damage practice-based vaccination viability by approving further vaccinations to be given in pharmacies”.

The motion calls for the “restoration in real terms” of vaccination payments to 2019 levels and for ‘vaccination hubs’ to be scrapped and GPs re-contracted to deliver immunisation services in areas where hubs have been set up.

The regional council’s motion also calls for public awareness campaigns “to rebut the harms done to public confidence in vaccination by assorted persons, including but not limited to GMC-registered doctors”.

Two motions with similar wording from the BMA’s Gateshead division, which sits within the North East region, call for vaccination services “to be commissioned in a way that prioritises delivery through general practice where appropriate, recognising the benefits of continuity of care and established patient relationships in improving vaccine uptake”.

In a separate motion put forward for the BMA’s June meeting, the South East regional council argues pharmacists should be prohibited from “independently initiating new medication outside formally agreed and documented collaborative arrangements with a supervising medical prescriber”.

The motion raises particular concern around the “structural safety risks” arising from the increased availability of GLP-1 medicines through community pharmacies and online dispensers.

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate yesterday (June 2), pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock said: “The NHS vaccination strategy in our 10-year health plan commits us to increasing vaccine uptake through primary care. One way that we are getting that done is through the national vaccinations programme.

“Alongside a core offer of vaccination in GP practices, we are making sure that vaccines are offered through sexual health services, maternity services, schools, health visitors and community pharmacies. Selected community pharmacies across the country have already been commissioned to provide MMR and RSV vaccines.

“The expanded vaccination programmes make use of pharmacy teams’ expertise in delivering vaccines, releasing pressure on GPs and helping to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.”

Related: BMA leaders urge GPs to 'overwhelm' A&E to ‘sabotage’ Pharmacy First