The Trust, which operate Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Bassetlaw Hospital and Montagu Hospital, is on a mission to vaccinate all colleagues directly involved in patient care and treatment. No stranger to tackling the winter illness, DBTH has been amongst the first acute NHS providers to vaccinate 75 per cent of front-line staff against the illness for three-years running.
Since beginning in October, the organisation’s team of volunteer vaccinators have worked tirelessly visiting wards and departments in order to give medics and clinicians easy access to the vaccine. Achievements throughout the month have included one vaccinator giving 40 jabs in as many minutes, in addition to two colleagues administering 100 vaccinations in the morning and afternoon, respectively.
With such enthusiasm from colleagues across the organisation, the Trust is currently out of vaccines. With two deliveries of the medicine received throughout the month, both batches were used up within days. Another supply will arrive later this month which will bring the cumulative figure of colleagues vaccinated to over 4,000.
David Purdue, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals, has also gotten involved in the campaign, vaccinating staff and also the Trust’s Chief Executive, Richard Parker OBE.
David said: “Once again, the team has shown real commitment to getting their flu jab, going above and beyond, our already high, expectations. As a Trust, ensuring colleagues have access to flu vaccination is incredibly important and I’m very pleased to see such enthusiasm once again this year and thank our team of vaccinators.
“Last year, we vaccinated around 4,000 members of staff, with our vaccinators named ‘Team of the Year’ by NHS Employers for their efforts. I am confident that we’re on course for another successful flu vaccination campaign, which, importantly, will help us to reduce the impact of the flu virus both in our hospitals and in the communities we serve.”
Throughout November, the Trust will continue to vaccinate its frontline workforce to further reduce the risk of hospital patients contracting flu this winter. Visitors can also help in the fight against flu and other winter illnesses by not coming to the Trust to see relatives and friends in hospital if they have flu and cold symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, cough, body aches and fatigue.
Flu can cause a range of illnesses from mild to severe, even among healthy people. People aged 65 and over, pregnant women, anyone with diabetes, chest or heart conditions and others in at-risk groups are advised to ask their GP about having the flu vaccine.