Herefordshire’s health and care workers are joining the fight against seasonal flu by making sure they are immunised against the virus to help protect patients and service users.

The vaccination campaign kicked off with mass vaccinations of staff at Hereford County Hospital - front line staff lined up to have their flu vaccination as they turned up for work. This included nurses, doctors, and community health workers. The vaccinations are also being offered at drop in clinics and on hospital wards.

So far more than 2,000 Wye Valley NHS Trust staff have been vaccinated – around 50 per cent of the workforce.

Staff at NHS Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, Herefordshire Council, and GP practices across the county are also rolling up their sleeves to receive the flu vaccination.

A total of around 3,000 NHS and social care staff will be receiving their seasonal flu vaccinations in the next couple of weeks.

Jon Barnes, Chief Operating Officer at Wye Valley NHT Trust, said: “We’re delighted that this early in the campaign many of our staff, including doctors, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, and community staff, have had their flu vaccine.

“It’s our responsibility to protect our patients as healthcare providers. It is therefore vital that as many of our staff members as possible have the vaccination and support this year’s local flu vaccination campaign. If we reduce the chances of staff contracting flu, we can really drive down the possibility of passing it on to our patients”.

Dr Ian Tait, GP and Clinical Chair for Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG), said:

"As a GP I offer every opportunity for people to protect themselves and their families. Flu Immunisation is something I strongly support and would urge everyone from the suggested groups to take advantage. This is particularly important for children, older people and pregnant women. Personally, I always have the Flu jab to protect myself and my patients, colleagues and family.

“I would urge all health and care frontline workers across Herefordshire, including hospital, ambulance, social care, mental health services, and community and general practice staff to make sure they are vaccinated to protect themselves and reduce the risk of passing on the illness to their patients and their families”.