Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has achieved the national target for this winter’s flu fighter campaign.
More than 75% of front-line staff across Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley District Hospital were vaccinated against the flu, in a bid to protect patients, staff and loved ones from the virus.
The target of 75% is set nationally by NHS England as part of the winter flu vaccination programme.
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals has introduced dedicated flu nurses who visited wards and departments throughout the winter period to offer the jab, as well as offering dedicated flu clinics to encourage staff to be vaccinated against the virus.
The hospitals also ran a ‘Get A Jab, Give A Jab’ campaign whereby for every flu jab given, the hospitals donated the cost of one tetanus vaccine to UNICEF to help them keep children safe. Thanks to staff across Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, the cost of 6021 tetanus jabs was donated by the hospitals to UNICEF.
Rachel O’Brien, Lead for Health and Wellbeing at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said: “We are delighted to have reached our target again this year. The flu virus can make people extremely poorly and we are committed to ensuring our patients are protected as much as possible while they are in our hospitals. This achievement highlights the dedication of our staff in keeping our patients safe. We are also pleased to have supported UNICEF this year through our flu fighter campaign.”