I work in a busy GP clinic where I give a lot of vaccinations. We have a small waiting room and sometimes there aren’t enough seats for patients to wait 15 minutes after receiving their injection/s, so they leave. What can I do?

Practice related to vaccinations is set out in the Australian Immunisation Handbook. It requires that immediately after you administer a vaccine you must keep the patient under observation for at least 15 minutes. This is to ensure they don’t experience an immediate adverse event – so they can receive rapid medical care if they need it. They also shouldn’t drive in that 15-minute period.

It’s good practice to explain to every patient before you administer their vaccine that this is a requirement and that it’s for their own safety. Ask them to verbally confirm that they agree to the wait time in the clinic.

After you’ve given the vaccine, remind them what time they can leave. To manage the 15-minute timing, some practices set reminder alarms for each patient, some give patients laminated reusable cards with their exit time. Others have dedicated chairs within sight of staff, so consider putting a ‘reserved’ sign above a seat to keep it free.

It’s helpful to explain the 15-minute observation requirement to reception staff so they understand it’s a matter of safety, particularly if you have back-to-back appointments and a packed waiting room. If a person leaves before at least 15 minutes passes, make sure you document in your notes that you explained the waiting requirement and if they verbally agreed to it, and how you indicated what time they could leave – then include what time they did leave. It’s important to document your own good practice in this situation.

You can find more information about vaccination after-care and documentation here: https:// immunisationhandbook.health. gov.au/contents/vaccination- procedures/after-vaccination