Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) claim process

Each claim is assessed on a case-by-case basis by a medical assessor. The way your claim will be assessed depends on the information you tell us on your claim form, so it’s important you explain exactly what happened after the vaccine was administered.

What happens when we receive your claim

We’ll process your claim as quickly as possible. Once you submit your claim:

We’ll contact you to let you know we’ve received your claim form. If we need to, we’ll request more information about your claim. You’ll be given a VAD reference number. This number is unique to you. You’ll be asked to provide it whenever you contact us about your claim.
A medical assessor will review the information you’ve provided on your claim form. They’ll check whether they need medical records from the healthcare providers listed on your claim form before your claim is assessed.
We’ll contact you about how your claim will be progressed as soon as this happens.

When medical records will not be requested

UK and Isle of Man claims

Under the government’s rules for the scheme, payment can only be made if an eligible vaccine has caused severe disablement. Severe disablement means at least 60% disabled, examples of which can be found in Schedule 2 of the Social Security (General Benefit) Regulations 1982.

We do not request medical records if a medical assessor has received sufficient information in the claim form to determine that the condition claimed for:

is a minor short-term problem that has passed or will pass
can be managed by you or with occasional GP help

Examples of claims we do not request medical records for are:

runny nose
minor headaches
backache
other minor side effects normally associated with being vaccinated

Jersey claims

We will request medical records for all Jersey claims.

For all other claims, we’ll contact the healthcare providers listed on your claim form directly if we need to request medical records. You do not need to do this yourself.

Examples of claims we’ve requested medical records for are:

Bell’s palsy
capillary leak syndrome
myocardial infarction

We work with healthcare providers to obtain copies of medical records as quickly and efficiently as possible, but it can take time for them to send us medical records. If medical records have been requested, we cannot progress a claim until the healthcare providers listed on the claim form send us medical records.

How your claim is assessed

All claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis by a medical assessor. All medical assessors are General Medical Council (GMC) registered doctors with a licence to practise and at least 5 years' experience.

All relevant information is considered to make a complete and fair assessment. The medical assessor thoroughly considers:

information given on the claim form
any further evidence submitted by you
any pre-existing conditions that are not caused by the vaccine
medical records (if required)
clinical research
epidemiological evidence
the current consensus of expert medical opinion

The medical assessor will advise if you are entitled to a Vaccine Damage Payment, based on the government’s rules for the scheme.

Receiving a decision about your claim

As soon as your claim has been assessed, you’ll receive a letter telling you the outcome, and a copy of the comprehensive medical report VAD 30 (MA) form (Word: 114KB). The medical assessment report is written by the medical assessor and explains how they reached their decision.

We’ll provide you with information on how to challenge the medical assessor’s decision if your claim is rejected.

We will request your bank details if your claim meets the criteria for a Vaccine Damage Payment.

If your claim is in relation to a vaccine received in the UK or Isle of Man, your outcome letter and medical assessment report will come from the NHSBSA.

If your claim is in relation to a vaccine received in Jersey, your outcome letter and medical assessment report will come from the Government of Jersey.

Guidance the medical assessor uses

Medical assessors use resources to support their assessment, including, but not limited to, some or all of the following:

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme - Principles of Medical Assessment Guidance (Word: 340KB).
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) data, including Yellow Card information on suspected safety concerns involving a healthcare product.
Vaccine product information and updates.
The Green Book - a reference material produced by the UK Health Security Agency and used by healthcare professionals in the UK. The Green Book brings together all documents relating to immunisation against infectious diseases. Visit Immunisation against infectious disease: the green book front cover and contents page - GOV.UK for more details.
Detailed guidance on disablement assessments relating to Schedule 2 of The Social Security (General Benefit) Regulations 1982 (legislation.gov.uk), which have been developed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
World Health Organization (WHO) documents.
Established and accepted medical epidemiological research papers.
Past tribunal decisions and case law.

How long it takes to assess a claim

The length of time it takes to process a claim varies from case to case. This will depend on the complexity of the case and the length of time it takes healthcare providers to supply any requested medical records. We’re working with healthcare providers to speed up their response times to requests for medical records.

We will issue reminders if we have not received the requested information after 30 days, 60 days and then 3 months from when the request was made to the healthcare provider.

Keeping you updated

Throughout the process, we will do all we can to progress your claim as quickly as possible and contact you with updates about your claim.

Contact us

If you need help with the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, contact us by:

email for UK and Isle of Man claims: [email protected]
email for Jersey claims: [email protected]
telephone: +44 (0)300 330 0013

Find out about call charges

We're available Monday to Friday, 8am to 4:30pm.

You can also write to us at:

NHS Business Services Authority
Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme
Unit 5 Greenfinch Way
Newburn Industrial Estate
Newburn
NE15 8NX

Privacy notice

For UK and Isle of Man claims, the VDPS privacy notice explains how the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS Business Services Authority securely store data of those claiming a Vaccine Damage Payment.

For Jersey claims, the VDPS privacy notice explains how the Government of Jersey and the NHSBSA securely store data of those claiming a Vaccine Damage Payment.

The data is used to process a claim and support the administration of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.