A MEDICAL centre has been forced to apologise to parents after dozens of babies and toddlers were given vaccines which had been stored at the wrong temperature.

The 56 youngsters will now have to be re-vaccinated due to a malfunction in one of the pharmaceutical fridges at Denburn Medical Practice in Aberdeen.

Health officials say the vaccines will not have caused any harm to the children but the effectiveness of the immunisations may have been reduced.

The families involved have all been contacted by the medical centre and offered re-vaccination.

Dr Diana Webster, consultant in public health medicine, said: "Our concern is that the effectiveness of the vaccines may have been compromised so they may not provide the necessary long term protection.

"The expert advice we received was that boosters should be offered as a precautionary measure, and we can reassure parents there is no risk from the additional dose of vaccine.

"The welfare of patients remains our highest priority, and we are satisfied there is no risk to children from the repeated vaccinations. We would urge parents to take up the appointments offered by the practice.

"We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause but would remind patients that immunisation remains the best way to protect against infection."

The fridge malfunction was discovered in December when staff realised the average daily temperature had increased slightly.

Further examinations were then undertaken by the Vaccine Holding Centre in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and it was found that one part of the fridge was running at too high a temperature.

NHS Grampian said the fridge had probably been malfunctioning since late October and claimed a case by case review was carried out by the practice to identify patients who had been immunised during that period using vaccines from the fridge.

All were babies and pre-school children who had received the jags under the childhood vaccination programme.

Dr Alistair McEwan, a partner at the medical practice, said: "The fault in the fridge was very subtle, and I am thankful that the vaccinating staff picked it up so early. It has allowed us to act quickly to minimise any potential harm.

"We apologise to the affected families for any inconvenience but would like to reassure them that we do not anticipate any health problems arising from this."

A letter sent out to parents by Dr Webster stated: "I would like to reassure you that we are following expert advice on what is the best action to take in these circumstances concerning re-vaccination. I would also like to reassure you that issues this incident has highlighted are being reviewed and lessons learnt will be applied throughout Grampian.

"NHS Grampian and staff at Denburn Medical Practice wish to apologise for the concern and inconvenience caused to you."

The health centre said it plans to complete the re-vaccinations within the next four weeks.

The vaccines involved prevent the potentially serious diseases of tetanus, diphtheria, polio, whooping cough and haemophilus influenzae B, meningococcal C and Rotavirus infections.