Skip to main content Skip to footer

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) claim process

Requesting medical records on your behalf 

After we receive your completed claim form, we check to make sure that you are eligible to apply for a Vaccine Damage Payment. If you meet the eligibility criteria, we contact the healthcare providers you have told us about and we ask them to send us copies of your full medical records.

This could include, where appropriate:

  • GP notes and medical history
  • hospital notes
  • information from other healthcare providers that have provided treatment relevant to your claim

We work with your healthcare providers to get copies of your full medical records as quickly as possible.  You do not need to request medical records yourself.

After we receive your full medical records, we prepare your claim and send it to an independent, third-party medical assessor.

How your claim is assessed

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

The independent medical assessor will look at your claim form, full medical records, clinical research, epidemiological evidence, and the current consensus of expert medical opinion. The assessor will advise if you are entitled to a Vaccine Damage Payment, based on whether:

  • the vaccine, on the balance of probabilities, caused your disability
  • the resulting disablement is severe 

Severely disabled means at least 60% disabled, assessed for the purposes of section 103 of The Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992. Further principles for assessing the extent of disablement are set out in the Social Security (General Benefit) Regulations 1982 (legislation.gov.uk). 

The independent assessor will also consider whether a claimant has any pre-existing conditions that are not caused by the vaccine.

Claims to the VDPS will only be considered where, on the balance of probabilities, severe disablement occurs as a result of a vaccine itself. A claim to the VDPS in relation to the administration of the vaccine – the act of vaccinating a patient – will not be covered by the scheme. A VDPS claim is not an allegation of negligent clinical care.  

Guidance the medical assessor uses

Independent medical assessors use resources to support their assessment, including, but not limited to:  

How long it takes to assess a claim 

The length of time it takes to investigate and process a claim varies from case to case. 

As part of the process of the scheme, a medical assessment can only commence once we receive full medical records for the claimant from their healthcare provider and this can take time.  We’re working with healthcare providers to obtain copies of medical records as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Keeping you updated

Throughout the process, we will do all we can to progress your claim as quickly as possible. We will contact you regularly to keep you updated.  

As soon as your claim assessment is complete, we will send you a letter telling you whether your claim has been successful, and a copy of the comprehensive medical report (VAD 30 (MA) form [PDF: 234KB]) from the independent medical assessor.

Contact us

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

Email: vdps@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
Phone: 0300 330 0013

Find out about call charges

We're usually open 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

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.

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