Closing the immunisation gap: partnership working that delivered at scale
pharmafile | June 3, 2026 | Feature | Business Services, Market Access Consultancy |Â Â Visions4HealthÂ
In February 2026, PMGroup and Visions4Health launched the Excellence in Healthcare Partnerships (EHP) Awards to recognise innovative collaborations and transformative partnerships between UK healthcare providers and the life sciences industry. Among the inaugural winners was CHASE, working with NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB), for their Childhood Immunisations and COVID-19 Vaccination Enhanced Recall Project. Here, Priyanka Hinton, Customer Solutions Director at CHASE, outlines how the partnership delivered measurable improvements, and what others can learn from it.
A partnership built around a clear problem
The Black Country is one of England’s most deprived Integrated Care Systems, where gaps in childhood immunisation uptake had become increasingly visible. Primary care teams understood the issue, but lacked the capacity to address it beyond standard recall methods.
The partnership model allowed a fundamental shift: separating the task from the setting. CHASE’s Primary Care Immunisation Facilitators (PCIFs) operated outside the pressures of general practice, enabling them to spend up to 30 minutes with families, often in their first language, addressing specific concerns driving vaccine hesitancy.
This division of labour proved critical. Within the first year, 149 of 171 invited practices engaged with the programme, facilitating over 41,000 immunisations. Overall uptake across the Black Country rose from 70.7% to 76.1%. These gains would have been difficult for any single organisation to achieve alone.
Demonstrating value in practice
Early credibility came from rapid GP engagement. A third of practices signed up within the first week, before any vaccinations had been delivered. This signalled both recognition of the problem and confidence in the proposed solution.
For families, the impact was most evident in underserved communities. PCIFs delivered consultations in languages including Gujarati, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu, helping to overcome barriers that automated outreach could not address.
For frontline teams, the benefits were operational. By removing the burden of recall and hesitancy conversations, practices regained time for direct patient care. The approach also aligned closely with NICE guidance, ensuring structured follow-up and tailored communication, further strengthening confidence in the model.
What made the partnership work
According to Hinton, success depended on more than shared intent. It began with a precise definition of the problem and a clear understanding of each partner’s role. The ICB brought commissioning authority, governance, and system access; CHASE delivered workforce, training and operational execution.
Robust governance structures underpinned delivery at scale, including honorary contracts and clinical system access across more than 170 sites. Flexibility was equally important. Practices were able to tailor recall approaches to their workflows, fostering stronger engagement than a rigid, standardised model.
Specialist training also played a central role. PCIFs were equipped to handle complex hesitancy concerns, ranging from misinformation to cultural beliefs, using evidence-based conversational techniques. Insights from these interactions were captured and shared, allowing best practice to evolve continuously.
Why recognition matters
The timing of the EHP Awards is significant. With the UK recently losing its measles elimination status, the need for effective immunisation strategies is urgent. In this context, recognition does more than celebrate success, it highlights a replicable methodology.
Awards programmes like EHP provide a validated reference point for commissioners and system leaders, helping to build confidence in partnership models that may otherwise face scepticism. They also accelerate the spread of innovation; the CHASE model, for example, has already informed similar initiatives elsewhere.
Importantly, recognition extends to the individuals delivering the work. PCIFs often navigate complex, sensitive conversations, and external validation reinforces the value of their contribution.
Advice for organisations trying to get partnership working off the ground
For organisations considering partnership approaches, Hinton’s advice is clear: start with the problem, not the partnership. Define the gap in capability first, then design the collaboration around it. Equally important is transparency about each partner’s strengths and limitations. Effective partnerships rely on complementary roles, not duplication. Early investment in governance, eg, contracts, data access and compliance, is also essential, particularly at scale.
Finally, measure outcomes that matter to the wider system, not just the project. Aligning metrics with commissioner priorities, such as uptake rates and data quality, helps demonstrate value and supports long-term sustainability.
Documenting learning throughout delivery, rather than retrospectively, ensures insights can be transferred and adapted elsewhere.
As this project demonstrates, well-structured partnerships can deliver tangible improvements in public health while offering a blueprint for others looking to make a similar impact.
To get in touch with CHASE, visit their website or email Priyanka Hinton, Customer Solutions Director, to arrange a meeting.
Visit the EHP Award website to read about all the innovative, inaugural winning collaborations.
Priyanka Hinton has a wealth of leadership experience across the pharmaceutical industry and working in NHS. She has led on developing and managing sales and market access teams, brand marketing across several disease areas and life cycle management. She has also specialised in developing multi-channel engagement strategies in and above market.
Most recently, Priyanka was Commercial Director at Pfizer commercialising the Covid-19 treatment and leading on its sales performance. She also worked in NHS England as a Senior Immunisation Manager, responsible for leading a team of commissioners to successfully deliver the childhood and adult immunisation programmes. She also has extensive experience in clinical service design and optimisation.
Visions4Health – market access experts and your gateway to local adoption at pace. We offer innovative and tailored market access solutions that deliver results to you, the health system and the patients you serve. We do this by leveraging our lived experience, our understanding of national and local healthcare systems, and insights generated by healthcare system stakeholders that sit on our Healthcare System Council and within our trusted Networks4Health community.
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