Labour Research October 2011

Health & Safety Matters

Flu jabs in NHS

Workers in the healthcare sector should be vaccinated against flu, according to the public sector union UNISON.

In particular, UNISON is calling on individual health service employers to ensure that sufficient flu jabs are made available and that immunisation for staff is arranged promptly.

Gail Adams, head of nursing at UNISON, said: “More and more nurses, midwives and healthcare workers recognise the need to have the vaccine, because flu can kill.

This year, the vaccine is coming to staff rather than the other way around. Adams called on NHS trusts to do all they can to make sure that staff have the time to get vaccinated, “and that means making an extra effort to cover those on different shifts,” she said.