Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Adverse reaction
- Any unexpected or unwanted reaction linked to a vaccine or medicine that harms, or could harm, a patient.
- Anaphylaxis
- A severe, life-threatening allergic reaction needing immediate emergency treatment, usually an injection of adrenaline into a muscle.
- Aseptic non-touch technique
- A careful method of preparing and giving an injection that avoids touching the parts that must stay sterile, so infection is not introduced.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Chaperone
- A trained person present during an intimate examination to support and protect the patient and the clinician.
- Child Health Information Service
- A regional record-keeping service that holds and shares children's immunisation and health information.
- Cold chain
- Keeping vaccines within a safe temperature range, usually 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, from delivery through to use.
- Contraindication
- A specific reason why a particular vaccine or treatment should not be given to a particular person.
- Decontamination
- The combined process of cleaning, disinfecting and, where needed, sterilising equipment so it is safe to reuse.
- Diluent
- A sterile liquid used to mix with a powdered vaccine to make it ready to inject.
- Five rights
- A safety check made before giving a vaccine: the right patient, right vaccine, right dose, right route and right time.
- Gillick competence
- The test of whether a child under 16 has enough understanding and maturity to consent to their own treatment.
- Green Book
- The UK Health Security Agency's online reference, Immunisation against infectious disease, which is the national guide on vaccines and how to give them.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting out the fundamental standards that registered care providers must meet, including consent and safe care and treatment.
- Healthcare assistant
- A trained support worker who carries out clinical tasks they are competent and authorised to do, under the supervision of registered professionals.
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012
- The main UK law controlling how medicines, including vaccines, are supplied and administered.
- Immunosuppression
- A weakened immune system, caused by illness or treatment, which can affect whether or when a vaccine should be given.
- Informed consent
- Agreement to treatment given freely after the risks, benefits and alternatives have been clearly explained.
- Intramuscular
- Given by injection directly into a muscle.
- Intranasal
- Given as a spray into the nose.
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- The UK body that regulates medicines, vaccines and medical devices and monitors their safety.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- The national body that produces evidence-based guidance on treatments and care for health and social care services.
- National protocol
- A national instruction that lets trained, competent staff give a named vaccine for a specific immunisation programme without an individual prescription or a Patient Group Direction.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Parental responsibility
- The legal rights and duties a person has for a child, including the right to consent to that child's treatment.
- Patient Group Direction (PGD)
- A written instruction letting named, trained staff supply or give a medicine to a defined group of patients without an individual prescription.
- Patient Specific Direction (PSD)
- A written instruction from a prescriber for a medicine to be supplied or given to one named patient.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Items such as gloves, aprons and masks worn to protect against harm or infection.
- Prescription-only medicine (POM)
- A medicine that may lawfully be supplied only on the instruction of an appropriate prescriber.
- Reconstitution
- Mixing a powdered vaccine with its liquid diluent to make it ready to inject.
- Records Management Code of Practice
- National guidance on how long health and care records should be kept and how they should be managed and disposed of.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Resuscitation Council UK
- The national organisation that sets the standards and guidance for treating cardiac arrest and emergencies such as anaphylaxis.
- Sharps
- Needles, blades and other items that can cut or puncture the skin.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the Care Quality Commission uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- A written, step-by-step instruction describing how a particular task must be carried out consistently and safely.
- Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC)
- The manufacturer's official document giving the approved details on how a vaccine or medicine should be stored, prepared and used.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
- The national public-health body responsible for protecting people from infectious diseases and other health threats, and for vaccine guidance.
- Yellow Card Scheme
- The UK system, run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, for reporting suspected side effects of medicines and vaccines.