THE Department of Health and its ministers are failing the public over the supply of flu vaccine, says North Thanet MP Roger Gale.

As a result he believes that some of his elderly constituents have been "left at risk".

Speaking at the House of Commons, he said: "It is only a relatively few weeks ago that the Secretary of State assured the House of Commons that supplies of vaccine were adequate.

"Indeed, Members of Parliament - and I was one of them - were encouraged to participate in the annual publicity campaign to promote the cause of vaccination for at risk groups of patients.

"It is now clear that the assurances that we were given were ill-founded and that demand has outstripped supply. In constituencies such as my own with a higher than average retired population it has become clear that the supply of vaccine is exhausted."

Mr Gale says he has written to the local health authority to ask what contingency plans they have to meet the demand. This followed a call from a constituent indicating that she had done a ring-around of chemists only to discover that they could not dispense her prescription because they had run out of supplies.

Mr Gale said: "If the Department of Health has over-promoted the need for vaccination then it is the department that must take the blame and the department that must swiftly deliver the goods - whatever the cost."