Vaccination records and NHS screening as a newcomer

Once you are registered with an NHS GP, you are automatically added to the national call-and-recall systems for vaccinations and for screening. These systems send invitations directly to eligible patients at the right age and interval, and most NHS patients do not need to do anything to be in them.

This article sets out which vaccinations and screening programmes the NHS offers, how the invitations work, how to transfer overseas records in, and what to do if you think you have been missed. Sources are at the end.

The national screening programmes

NHS population screening runs a defined list of programmes, each with clear age-based eligibility. You are invited automatically once you are on an NHS list.

• Cervical screening (smear tests). Women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64, invited every three years from age 25 to 49 and every five years from 50 to 64. Full detail at NHS cervical screening.

• Breast screening (mammogram). Women aged 50 to 71, invited every three years. Trials are extending the age range to 47 to 73 in some areas.

• Bowel screening. Adults aged 54 to 74 (reducing to 50 to 74 as the national roll-out completes), invited every two years with a home stool test (FIT).

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening. Men aged 65, a one-off ultrasound scan invitation in the calendar year they turn 65.

• Diabetic eye screening. Annual invitation for all adults with diabetes.

• Antenatal and newborn screening. Pregnancy-related screening (including combined-test, amniocentesis if appropriate, infectious-disease screening), plus newborn blood-spot (heel-prick), newborn hearing, and newborn physical examination screening.

• Newborn Infant Physical Examination (NIPE). Carried out within 72 hours of birth and at six to eight weeks.

All of these programmes are free to eligible patients and come to the patient by direct invitation. You do not need to request them.

The national immunisation programmes

NHS vaccinations are offered to defined eligible groups. The main programmes are below.

### Childhood immunisations

The UK childhood immunisation schedule covers:

• Eight weeks: 6-in-1 (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, hepatitis B), rotavirus, MenB.

• Twelve weeks: 6-in-1 (second dose), pneumococcal.

• Sixteen weeks: 6-in-1 (third dose), MenB (second dose).

• One year: MMR, Hib/MenC, pneumococcal (boost), MenB (boost).

• Three years four months: MMR (second dose), 4-in-1 preschool booster (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio).

• Annual from two years onwards: children's flu vaccine during flu season.

• Twelve to thirteen years: HPV vaccine.

• Fourteen years: 3-in-1 teenage booster (Td/IPV), MenACWY.

The Red Book (Personal Child Health Record) is the paper record given to every baby born in the UK. It records vaccinations, growth, and developmental checks.

### Adult immunisations

• Annual seasonal flu vaccine. Offered free to over-65s, pregnant women, care-home residents, care workers, frontline health and care staff, patients with specified long-term conditions, and several other eligible groups.

• COVID-19 vaccine. Offered to eligible groups (ages and risk categories change periodically).

• Pneumococcal (PPV23). Over-65s and specified at-risk groups.

• Shingles (Shingrix). Currently offered to adults aged 65 (rolled in from age 70 with the transition completing over several years), and to immunosuppressed adults aged 50+.

• MMR catch-up. Free to anyone unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated, any age.

• Travel vaccinations. NHS-funded for a defined list (hepatitis A, typhoid, combined diphtheria-tetanus-polio, cholera in specific circumstances); private for the rest, as covered in What NHS GP practices charge for.

What happens automatically after you register

Once you are registered with an NHS GP, several things happen without you doing anything.

• You are added to the national screening call-and-recall register for age- and sex-appropriate programmes. Invitations arrive by letter or through the NHS App.

• You are added to the national immunisation register for age-appropriate vaccinations.

• Your childhood immunisation record is imported if you have had UK childhood immunisations previously. For vaccinations received abroad, see below.

• A new-patient health check is often offered, which is a good opportunity to confirm your vaccination history and to flag any missing items.

Transferring overseas vaccination records in

If you received childhood vaccinations abroad, the UK NHS system does not automatically have those records. You can help the system by providing them on registration.

### What to bring

• Your childhood vaccination record in the original document. Most countries provide a printed record with dates and vaccine names.

• A translation if not in English. Most UK GP practices can work from WHO-style international records even without full translation, but a translation helps.

• Any adult vaccinations received abroad with dates.

• Known allergies and reactions to vaccinations, in writing.

### What the GP will do

• Review the record and enter relevant vaccinations into your UK NHS record.

• Identify any gaps in the UK schedule.

• Offer catch-up vaccinations for any missing items.

• Recommend any boosters that are now due.

Some practices run dedicated new-patient vaccination-review appointments for newly arrived patients. Others handle it at the new-patient health check. Either is fine.

### If you do not have your records

Most countries have national vaccination registries that can provide a copy on request. The World Health Organization International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) is the international standard and, for yellow fever specifically, is the document airports check.

If records are unavailable, the UK practice will either:

• Serologically test for immunity to specific diseases (measles, hepatitis B, varicella), or

• Offer catch-up vaccination on the UK schedule, on the basis that additional vaccination is safe for patients whose status is uncertain.

Either approach is clinically appropriate.

If you think you have been missed

Screening and vaccination programmes occasionally miss eligible patients, particularly around practice transfers, house moves, or age thresholds. Two things help.

• Check your NHS App. The app shows your immunisation record and any screening invitations.

• Ask your GP practice. If you think you are due for a screening test (for example cervical or bowel) and have not had an invitation, the practice can check the call-and-recall list and send an invitation manually.

• Use NHS 111. For urgent questions about vaccination or screening.

Pregnancy, childhood, and specific-risk vaccinations

Several vaccinations have specific-risk eligibility rather than age-based.

• Pregnancy vaccinations. Pertussis and flu vaccinations are offered free to pregnant women. RSV vaccination was added in 2024.

• Adult immunocompromised patients. Additional vaccinations may be offered for patients on immunosuppressive treatment, with HIV, post-splenectomy, or with specific chronic conditions.

• Healthcare and care-home workers. Occupational-health vaccination programmes cover hepatitis B, varicella (where susceptible), and flu.

• Travel-related vaccinations. Offered before travel, either NHS-funded for the NHS-list vaccines or private for the rest.

Your NHS GP can advise on which of these you might be eligible for.

Vaccinations and screening after age 65

Several programmes come online or intensify after 65.

• Annual flu vaccination becomes routine.

• Pneumococcal vaccination (PPV23) offered at 65.

• AAA screening offered as a one-off in the calendar year of turning 65 for men.

• Shingles vaccination offered (age schedule transitioning).

• Breast screening continues to age 71, with self-referral option thereafter.

• Bowel screening continues to 74, with self-referral option thereafter.

A post-65 review with your GP is a useful way to confirm you are enrolled in everything you are eligible for.

The summary

The NHS runs one of the more comprehensive vaccination and screening programmes in the world, free to eligible patients, delivered through direct invitation once you are registered with a GP. Childhood immunisations, adult boosters, annual flu, COVID-19 where eligible, shingles, pneumococcal, pregnancy-related vaccinations, and the national screening programmes (cervical, breast, bowel, AAA, diabetic eye, antenatal, newborn) are all in the package.

Newcomers benefit from bringing overseas vaccination records at registration so the UK record can be completed. Missing or incomplete records are handled by the GP through catch-up or serology. Patients who think they have been missed can check through the NHS App or their GP practice.

Staying on the call-and-recall list is one of the most valuable things NHS registration gives you. Everything else being equal, being in these programmes reliably improves long-term health outcomes.

Sources and further reading

• gov.uk, NHS population screening programmes. The national screening programmes directory.

• NHS, Vaccinations. The UK vaccination programme landing page.

• gov.uk, The complete routine immunisation schedule. Current UK immunisation schedule.

• NHS, Cervical screening. Programme detail.

• NHS, Breast screening. Programme detail.

• NHS, Bowel cancer screening. Programme detail.

• NHS, Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening. Programme detail.

• NHS, Diabetic eye screening. Programme detail.

• NHS, Antenatal and newborn screening. Pregnancy-related screening programmes.

• NHS App, nhs.uk/nhs-app. Your NHS immunisation and screening record.

• World Health Organization, International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis. Standard international immunisation document.

About the author

Dr Seth Rankin qualified in medicine at Auckland School of Medicine in New Zealand in 1990 and worked as a junior doctor across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK before qualifying as a Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) through the London Deanery in 2004. He was Managing Partner of Wandsworth Medical Centre from 2006 to 2016 and served as a Board Member of Wandsworth Clinical Commissioning Group for nine years. He is the founder of London Travel Clinic, London Doctors Clinic, London Medical Laboratory, and LoveMyLife.

Read more about Dr Seth Rankin.

Ready to start?

If you are new to the UK and would like a vaccination and screening review, a consultation with an MRCGP-registered GP is a useful first step.

Begin your consultation at this link. Online or in person at Westfield London.