A higher percentage of staff at Brighton’s main hospital have had the flu jab this year, chief executive Marianne Griffiths said this morning (Wednesday 28 November).
More than four in ten staff at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust have been vaccinated compared with slightly fewer than four in ten last year.
Mrs Griffiths told the BSUH board that more staff were being encouraged to have the jab to improve protection for staff and patients still further.
The trust runs a number of hospitals including the Royal Sussex County Hospital, the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and the Sussex Eye Hospital.
Mrs Griffiths said: “We have been encouraging as many of our staff as possible to have a flu jab this year.
“The national NHS has warned that the coming flu season is likely to be severe and we have a free vaccination available for every member of staff.
“We have held drop-in sessions and had a team of roving vaccinators who vaccinated individual teams and departments.
“We have shared with staff the research findings that only 23 per cent of people with the flu develop symptoms which means that 77 per cent of people with the flu are walking around and spreading it without knowing it.
“We have also reminded staff that for every flu jab we give at the trust, we will donate to Unicef a tetanus vaccination to a child in the developing world.
“The results so far are encouraging. Over 43 per cent of all frontline staff have already been vaccinated which compares with a total of 39 per cent vaccinated last year.
“And our drop-in sessions and encouragement to take up a jab continue.”
