Influenza Vaccination for Healthcare Workers
As stated in the flu immunisation programme 2017/18 letter it is important that frontline health professionals receive the annual Flu vaccination.
We would like to re-emphasise the importance of flu vaccination of health and social care workers with direct patient / client contact. Health and social care workers must protect their patients and this is an important way to help reduce the risk of patient infections. Indeed, the General Medical Council’s 2013 good medical practice guidance for doctors includes under bullet 29 the following statement: “You should be immunised against common serious communicable diseases (unless otherwise contraindicated)”. There is always pressure on the NHS and social care services during the winter. Vaccinating staff against flu is an important infection control measure as part of the annual winter planning process to ensure the NHS and social care are as resilient as possible.
The benefits of vaccination are:
1) Minimise chance of suffering influenza infection which is a very debilitating acute infection and can even in healthy fit individuals lead to hospital admission and has resulted in deaths.
2) Minimise risk of transmitting infection to family members.
3) Minimise risk of transmission to patients. . Vaccination reduces the risk of staff in the prodromal phase coming to work and infecting vulnerable patients without realising they actually have flu.
4) Managing winter pressures and reducing sickness absence arising from influenza and so minimising pressures on colleagues to cover potentially avoidable absence.
5) Adds to the effectiveness of Infection prevention and control procedures for what is a highly contagious disease.
Again we are requested to report to NHS England % uptake of the vaccine. The target of 75% uptake in frontline line health care workers for this year is set. This is challenging as last year’s uptake was 32.8%. This year we also have the CEQUIN target to meet.
Senior clinical staff are influential in increasing staff awareness and understanding of the importance of staff vaccination against seasonal flu, and can lead by example to drive up rates of vaccination among frontline staff. Managers are asked to make arrangements for those staff wishing to be vaccinated to be able to attend the arranged clinics. Where staff have difficulty accessing these clinics then the Manager/Individual should contact the department to discuss alternative arrangements.
Please ensure you book into the clinic you wish to attend by calling the Occupational Health Department on 01482 389333/389335. If you have had the vaccine at your GP surgery please also let us know.