23.09.11
Health professionals have a ‘duty’ to get flu jab
A new initiative is encouraging health workers to get the flu jab, to tackle low immunisation rates. A recent report found that only 34.7% of NHS staff were vaccinated last year, although the flu virus caused over 600 deaths of vulnerable patients.
The H1N1 swine flu virus is potentially fatal, and the new national NHS Staff Seasonal Flu Vaccine Campaign could greatly reduce this risk. There are 16 million people who are eligible for the free flu jab, although this year no national campaign will run to advertise this service to applicants.
Dr Lindsey Davies, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said: “It's a complete dereliction of duty for any health professional not to have the flu vaccine because as well as having a duty to treat patients, they also have a duty to keep them from harm.
“By not having the flu vaccine health professionals are at risk of a patient catching flu from them, and also they are at risk of being absent from work completely avoidably because they have flu.
“If a vulnerable patient gets the flu, they could die, it's as simple as that. That's a danger at the moment. The patient isn't well to start with, so if a doctor infects their patient – especially if they are chronically unwell, very elderly, pregnant, have a breathing condition or are a young baby – then that patient could die.”
A spokeswoman for the British Medical Association, which is backing the campaign, said: “By getting the influenza vaccination doctors will not only be protecting themselves but also their families, patients and the NHS services they provide.
“We believe that it is essential that at risk groups understand the importance of having the flu vaccine. In the absence of a national campaign, it is essential that local areas develop systems to target these groups.”
An extra 2 million vaccines have been ordered for this winter, and to provide an emergency reserve. People are recommended to get vaccinated, even if they did so last year, as there is no evidence the protection would still be effective from the previous year.
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