Health visitors will begin offering childhood vaccinations during home visits under a £2 million NHS pilot designed to improve uptake among families who fail to attend GP appointments.

The year–long trial, launching in mid-January, will run across twelve pilot schemes in five regions of England – London, the Midlands, the North East and Yorkshire, the North West and the South West. 

It targets families who have fallen behind on routine childhood immunisations due to barriers such as travel costs, childcare pressures, language difficulties or a lack of GP registration.

Under the scheme, health visiting teams will be able to vaccinate children as part of routine visits, rather than requiring families to attend GP surgeries. 

Ministers say this will help ensure more children receive protection against preventable diseases. 

However, some professionals have warned that workforce pressures could limit how quickly such plans can be scaled up, warning of a national shortage and wide disparities in health visitor provision across England.

Health visitors are specialist public health nurses who support families with children under five, offering advice on child development, feeding and family health through a mix of home visits and clinic appointments. 

While the pilot is not intended to replace GP-led vaccination services, it is designed to act as a safety net. 

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'Every parent deserves the chance to protect their child from preventable diseases, but some families have a lot going on and that can mean they miss out,' he said. 

He added that health visitors are 'trusted faces' in communities and well placed to reach families most in need of support.

Health visitors taking part in the pilot will receive additional training, including how to administer vaccines safely and how to handle difficult conversations with parents who have concerns or doubts about vaccination. 

Families eligible for the scheme will be identified by the NHS using GP records, health visitor notes and local data.

The government says the pilot forms part of a wider effort to tackle health inequalities and raise vaccination rates. 

Officials point to recent increases in uptake of flu vaccines, with more than 18 million doses delivered this autumn – hundreds of thousands more than at the same point last year – alongside a rise in the number of NHS staff receiving vaccinations.

Alongside the pilot, ministers are investing in digital tools to help parents track their children's health and immunisations. 

Families will be able to monitor records through a new 'My Children' feature in the NHS App, described as a modern digital alternative to the traditional Red Book – the personal child health record given to parents shortly after a baby is born.

Separately, from 2 January 2026, children will begin receiving a new MMRV vaccine, protecting against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox in a single jab. 

The vaccine replaces the current MMR programme and introduces routine protection against chickenpox for the first time.

The pilot will be independently evaluated before ministers decide whether to expand it nationally from 2027.