Members of the NNUH flu vaccination team – photo © NNUH

 

Record numbers of staff have had their flu vaccinations in the first three weeks of an annual campaign at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals (NNUH).

More than 4600 staff have had their flu vaccination since the launch of the campaign on Monday 28 September, smashing the total vaccinated during the same period last year, which was 2860.

Head of Workplace Health and Wellbeing, Hilary Winch said: “This is a magnificent start to our campaign. This time last year we had vaccinated around 35% of staff. We are all aware that this is far from a normal year and that awareness of the terrible impact viruses can have has made people more aware of the need to have their flu vaccination. Therefore it has been really important for us to be able to make the process as easy as possible for everyone.”

This year trusts are facing challenging targets to ensure that all staff are offered the vaccination and that every frontline staff member who has direct contact with patients is vaccinated.

To meet that challenge the staff health and wellbeing team are pulling out all the stops to give it the hospital the best chance of achieving these targets. We have:

Two flu tents with vaccinators delivering 25 scheduled sessions a week for the entire 12-week campaign, taking us up to Christmas
A new online booking system making it easier for staff to manage their time, reducing waiting times and preventing queues
Drop in sessions for those for whom it is difficult to book
Weekend and out of hours sessions
160 peer vaccinators able to deliver flu jabs to busy frontline staff, unable to make it to clinics
An army of roaming vaccinators who will also be able to vaccinate staff who request their services
NNUH Chief Nurse Professor Nancy Fontaine said: “This is incredible. I am delighted with the response from our staff to this year’s flu campaign and I am proud to see so many of them protecting themselves and protecting others as we head into the winter season. It is therefore really important that our community plays its par too. More people than ever before are eligible for a free flu jab, so I would urge them to book in with their GP at the earliest opportunity.”

 

The figures for Monday 28 September to 18 October 2020

Total trust vaccinations – 50%

Total vaccinations given – 4633:

70% via flu team and the flu clinics
30% via peer vaccinators