Front-line NHS staff who refuse flu jab face ward ban

DOCTORS and nurses refusing to have a flu jab this winter could be banned from working with patients, the NHS regulator has warned.

Health chiefs announced yesterday that front-line staff who fail to have the vaccine will be forced to explain themselves and may be “redeployed” away from wards.

The significant hardening of policy follows the crisis in NHS hospitals last winter, principally in A&E, driven by the worst outbreak of influenza in seven years.

Despite the threat posed by flu, nearly a third of front-line healthcare workers had not been vaccinated.

Experts believe this exacerbated the pressures faced by hospitals due to higher than necessary absence through sickness, as well as unvaccinated staff spreading the virus among patients without necessarily falling ill themselves. Figures suggest that a third of last winter’s increase in emergency admissions were flu-related.

The new mandatory policy from NHS Improvement was announced along with £145million to prepare hospitals for the forthcoming flu season.

This will include the provision of two additional wards at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, where last January a senior emergency doctor publicly apologised for the “Third World conditions” endured by patients in A&E.

A study published in the same month found that for every 10 per cent increase in NHS vaccination rates, there was a 10 per cent fall in sickness absence.

According to NHS Improvement, “staff who decide not to be vaccinated [should] explain, so that the organisation can use the information to support greater compliance”.

The statement added: “In hospital departments where patients have lower immunity and are most at risk of flu, it may be appropriate for those who choose not to be vaccinated to be redeployed to other areas where this promotes the overall safety of patients.”

NHS and social workers are entitled to the flu vaccine free of charge, while GP, dental practices and community pharmacies are expected to offer the jab to their front-line staff.

Prof Jane Cummings, the NHS chief nursing officer, said: “By getting vaccinated against flu, healthcare workers can protect themselves, their families, colleagues and patients, making sure we have a healthy workforce and helping to reduce the pressures on services over winter.”

This year a newly-licensed “tri– valent” vaccine will be available to all people aged over 65, which promises the strongest protection against flu in this more susceptible group.

Last winter saw the worst flu outbreak since 2010-11, with nearly 300,000 more people attending A&E departments and 100,000 more people being admitted to hospital as an emergency than the previous year.