Vaccinating healthcare professionals

Fighting Flu Vaccinating healthcare professionals

Fighting flu Vaccinating healthcare professionals

Introduction Since 2011, NHS Employers has worked in partnership with Public Health England, supported by the Department of Health, to successfully deliver the national staff facing flu vaccination programme: flu fighter. As the campaign enters its fifth year, the flu fighter team faces one of its biggest challenges yet. Preliminary efficacy reports from last year’s vaccine, which now show a 34 per cent efficacy result, may have created some negative perceptions around the vaccine. Throughout 2015/16, the flu fighter campaign will be continuing to reach out to its audience on best practice, myth busting and making best use of the channels available such as social media. This booklet focuses on why the seasonal influenza vaccination is particularly important for NHS staff in primary care, and addresses some common misconceptions about the vaccination.

Seasonal influenza vaccination for primary care staff For the fifth consecutive year, NHS Employers is rolling out the national flu fighter campaign to improve flu vaccination uptake. The flu fighter team is providing support, guidance and tools to frontline healthcare workers to help them get the most out of running a local campaign. There are a range of creative tools available such as the communications toolkit containing helpful facts and template news articles; plus case studies that share innovative ideas of how to improve

uptake of the flu vaccination. Also available online are practical campaign guides and frameworks for both planning and evaluating staff flu vaccination campaigns. The flu fighter team also shares best practice, reward initiatives and busts myths on its twitter account – @NHSflufighter. Ruth Warden, deputy director of the development and employment services team at NHS Employers, said: “The NHS continues to embrace the flu fighter campaign, and it is so exciting to see the new and innovative

ways that organisations are taking the campaign on board and encouraging uptake of the vaccination. Through nurturing this momentum, supporting trusts enthusiasm and further increasing the knowledge around the vaccination, we can help ensure that the number of NHS staff committing to protect themselves and their patients keeps on growing.” Last season (2014/15) the NHS Employers campaign ran in Wales as well as England, to help improve staff flu vaccination uptake. Uptake


In 2014/15, the national average for healthcare worker vaccinations across England was at a record high of 54.8 per cent

in Wales at the end of that season was 44.3 per cent, which was a great improvement from 41.7 per cent the previous season. Nicola Meredith, immunisation nurse specialist at Public Health Wales, said: “The support and guidance of the flu fighter team has strengthened the NHS staff-facing flu immunisation campaign in Wales. “We are really looking forward to working with the team again for the third year and seeing flu fighter Cymru continue to encourage healthcare workers in Wales to protect themselves and the people they care for, by having a flu vaccination.”

Primary care staff are at the frontline of the health service, providing care for the vulnerable, elderly and chronically ill every working day. It is imperative that staff make the choice to further protect their patients by being immunised against influenza this winter. Past uptake In 2014/15, the national average for healthcare worker vaccinations across England was at a record high of 54.8 per cent. However, primary care staff topped the charts in seasonal influenza vaccination tables with GP practice nurses achieving the highest uptake at 64.5 per cent,

closely followed by GPs with 59.3 per cent. Interestingly, excluding those in primary care, nurses had the lowest uptake of all groups nationally with only 49.4 per cent vaccinated against seasonal influenza. Despite rising by almost ten per cent from 2012/13, nurse uptake remains below average. This could be due to a lack of easy access to the vaccination in larger acute settings, along with issues like misinformation about the vaccination. Comparatively, private companies, GP surgeries and health centres providing primary care, take ownership of their own vaccination campaigns and often train vaccinators in-house to immunise their colleagues.

Common misconceptions One of the key reasons for staff choosing not to receive the seasonal influenza vaccination is due to commonly held myths. To tackle this, NHS Employers has developed a clinical evidence1 document in partnership with Public Health England, which thoroughly explains the vaccination and dispels many misconceptions about seasonal influenza. This document also includes the most recent efficacy report, showing that the vaccine in 2014/15 was 34 per cent efficient. NHS Employers is also addressing common myths about the vaccine through the newly-launched mythbusting Mondays.

Look out for #flumythbuster on @NHSFlufighter every Monday for shortened versions of the following myths and facts. MYTH: ‘The flu jab can give you the flu’ TRUTH: It is impossible to get the flu from having the flu jab, because the vaccine doesn’t contain live viruses. A very small number of people experience side effects such as soreness, swelling or aching muscles, but this is simply the immune system responding to the vaccine. Immunity to influenza from the vaccination can take up to 14 days to build, which means that you could be infected in this time. This


is why it is so important to get your vaccination early, before flu starts circulating in the community. MYTH: ‘Influenza isn’t that dangerous’ TRUTH: Flu is unpleasant for the majority of people who catch it, but for some it can lead to chest infections, severe complications and death. Globally, seasonal influenza accounts for about three to five million cases of severe illness each year and between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths. MYTH: ‘Fit and healthy people don’t need the flu jab’ TRUTH: Vaccination isn’t just

about keeping yourself safe, it’s about protecting your colleagues, your family and your patients. You can carry and pass the virus on to others without having any symptoms yourself, so even if you consider yourself healthy, you might be risking the lives of others. MYTH: ‘Being vaccinated against flu won’t stop the spread of infection’ TRUTH: The World Health Organisation cites clean water and vaccination as the two interventions that have the greatest impact on public health. Trivalent seasonal influenza vaccines generally give 50 to

70 per cent protection against infection. MYTH: ‘If you’ve had the vaccination before, you don’t need it again’ TRUTH: The vaccine for seasonal influenza can change each year, to help protect against circulating strains of influenza. This means that the vaccine you had last year might not protect you against flu this year. The vaccine is also time limited so it is best to keep your protection refreshed. What can managers in primary care do to encourage staff to get their flu jab?

l Ensure

that the flu fighter campaign and wider health and wellbeing initiatives are backed with strong leadership and visible support at all levels, from chief executives to practice nurses. l Encourage staff to become ‘flu champions’, dispelling myths and publicising clinic times and locations. l Be passionate and clear about how staff flu vaccinations are essential to patient care, and that this is supported by the best available evidence. l Be aware that health unions are highly supportive of this campaign, that the campaign is working in partnership with them, and that

they too will be encouraging staff to be vaccinated. l Allow staff to get their vaccination during work hours, dependent on workload and availability. l Creative flu campaigns get the attention and support of staff. Whether it’s a helpful visual to illustrate uptake, or innovative ways of running a flu jab campaign, we would like to hear about it. Email us at: [email protected]. Summary The business case for staff flu vaccinations is also compelling. The Boorman Review said that

Ensure that the flu fighter campaign and your wider health and wellbeing initiatives are backed with strong leadership and visible support at all levels, from chief executives to practice nurses


The business case for staff flu vaccinations is also compelling. The Boorman Review said that £555 million could be saved if current NHS staff absence rates were reduced by a third through improvements to health and wellbeing

£555 million could be saved if current NHS staff absence rates were reduced by a third through improvements to health and wellbeing. 2 While that figure includes much more than just the consequences of flu, it is equally true that flu leads to additional effects that harm finances, including inefficiencies resulting from sickness absence and an increased use of agency staff cover. By staff having the flu vaccination, they are not only protecting themselves, but their patients, colleagues and family. Even if staff do not show symptoms of flu themselves, they could still pass the virus onto other people. However, it has also been shown that patient care is affected by staff motivation and wellbeing. 3 So, by investing in your staff through your flu campaign, you may also be having a positive impact on patient outcomes in your organisation. Annual staff flu vaccination campaigns bring groups of staff together, fighting for a common cause. Following the Francis Inquiry, there has been an unprecedented focus on staff engagement and culture change within the health service. Running an innovative and engaging flu campaign is one step towards this goal. The NHS Employers organisation is excited about this year’s national staff flu vaccination campaign, and hopes to see an increase in vaccination uptake from across the NHS. Flu fighter team NHS Employers

References 1 Mytton O. Clinical Evidence. NHS Employers; 2010. Updated by PHE August 2014. nhsemployers.org/ campaigns/flufighter/runningyour-campaign (accessed 15 October 2015) 2 Boorman S et al. NHS health and well-being review. London; DH; 2009. nhshealthandwellbeing.org/ pdfs/NHS%20Staff%20H&WB%20 Review%20Final%20Report%20 VFinal%2020-11-09.pdf (accessed 15 October 2015) 3 Maben J et al. Patients’ experiences of care and the influence of staffmotivation, affect and wellbeing. Final report. NIHR Service Delivery and Organisation programme; 2012. netscc.ac.uk/hsdr/projdetails. php?ref=08-1819-213 (accessed 15 October 2015) Resource NHS Employers – national seasonal staff influenza vaccination campaign (flu fighter) w www.nhsemployers.org/flu e [email protected] @NHSFlufighter Join the conversation on Twitter #flufighter