Most NHS staff have now had flu jab, figures reveal
Most doctors, nurses and other frontline staff at hospitals in the Black Country and Staffordshire have now had a flu jab to protect themselves and their patients.
Staff involved in direct patient care are encouraged to have the jab and take up is now around 80 per cent on average.
At Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs Sandwell and City hospitals, 82 per cent have had the job. The figure is 75 per cent at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital.
Hospitals in Walsall and Staffordshire have had success in convincing staff to get the jab. Some 85.1 per cent of staff at Walsall Manor, run by Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, have been vaccinated, while the figure is also around 85 per cent at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs Stafford's County Hospital and Royal Stoke Hospital.
Karen Kelly, chief operating officer at the Dudley Group NHS Trust, said: "We are really proud that 75 per cent of our staff have been vaccinated against flu and we are on target to reach 80 per cent by the close of the campaign at the end of February.
"Care and safety of our patients is our top priority and we are grateful to our frontline staff for getting their flu jab to reduce the risk of transmission to our patients."
Paula Gardner, chief nurse at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, said: “Currently, 82 per cent of our patient-facing staff have been vaccinated and the number of staff receiving the flu jab continues to rise. We continue to actively encourage staff to have their flu jab because we know it protects our patients, especially those who are most vulnerable.”
It comes amid global efforts to try and halt the spread of the Coronavirus after it originated in China.
Trusts have financial incentives for staff uptake, receiving full payment if at least 80 per cent have it, and a decreasing amount down to 60 per cent coverage, below which they get nothing.
Dr Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “The NHS has enough to worry about without further issues with staff being unwell when it may have been prevented.
“We know there is a financial incentive for NHS trusts to get their staff vaccinated but I would hope the health need and protection it offers would be more than enough to persuade people.”
Dr Doug Brown, chief executive of the British Society for Immunology, said the flu vaccine is the best protection we have against a virus that can lead to serious illness in vulnerable groups.
He added. “It is extremely important to continue to increase seasonal flu vaccine uptake among frontline healthcare workers to reduce the risk of spreading the virus and causing serious illness in at-risk groups.”
