Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccination (PPV) Programme
Purpose and outline
The pneumococcal vaccines protect against pneumococcal infections caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumonia. The pneumococcus is one of the most frequently reported causes of bacteraemia and meningitis and it is the commonest cause of community-acquired pneumonia.
Invasive pneumococcal disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and can affect anyone. However, it particularly affects the very young, the elderly and those with impaired immunity or chronic conditions.
This programme delivers vaccinations for patients aged 65 or over and at-risk patients aged 2 years to 64 years inclusive.
PPV is the only vaccine recommended for the patients eligible under this programme (PCV if for smaller children) and only one dose is required per patient which provides life-time cover. For a small number of at-risk patients, vaccination every five years is required.
Practices are only paid for vaccinations carried out by the practice, not for those given by other providers.
How this service is commissioned and provided
Regions commission this service from GP practices.
NHS England service specifications
2025/28: Information about this service
- Quality service start date: 1 April 2025
- Quality service end date: 31 March 2028
- Payment period: Monthly
- Collection frequency: Monthly
- Manual or automatic entry: Automatic data collection
- Included in data collection: All system suppliers (TPP, Medicus and EMIS)
- System type: Vaccination and Immunisation (V&I)
Service user guides
The Calculating Quality Reporting Service (CQRS) user guides describe how to participate, manually enter and declare achievement for this service.