CLCH flu fighters win top award

We are delighted to announce that the Trust's Flu Fighter team has won the NHS Employers Flu Fighter award for the 'most improved flu fighter campaign'. Congratulations team.

The uptake by staff receiving flu vaccinations was 26.5% in 2014, but last year saw a big jump of vaccination take-ups to 46% which made us the highest provider of vaccinations by a community trust in London.

The Flu Fighter awards celebrate the success of flu teams across England and Wales, and recognises all the hard work that has gone into local campaigns. The team's approach to promoting the campaign and getting people vaccinated was simple: make it available and make it visible.

The Trust's Flu Fighter team ran a successful campaign to encourage staff to be vaccinated. Teams involved in our 2015 campaign included: Employee Health; Infection Prevention; a small army of peer vaccinators; and Communications. Thanks to everyone who made winning this award possible, but of course special thanks to everyone who took the time to have their vaccine. It's important that frontline staff receive a vaccine as it will protect the member of staff, the patients they care for, their work colleagues, and their family and friends.

CLCH's Clare Johnstone (Head of Infection Prevention and Medical Devices) and Pauline Clarke (Lead Nurse in our Employee Health Service) collected the Flu Fighter award at the ceremony in Leeds.

The aim of the annual flu fighter campaign is to support the need for flu vaccination among health care workers.

Throughout the flu season NHS Employers provide advice, guidance and campaign materials to support local NHS staff flu vaccination campaigns, and our team has gone the extra mile to ensure that their campaign was a success and staff here are vaccinated.

The categories for this year's English awards were:
 

• flu fighter champion;
• best flu fighter team;
• #flufighter award for digital and social media;
• innovative flu fighter campaign;
• most improved flu fighter campaign;
• flu fighter carers' award; and
• flu fighter residential care award.

NHS Employers works in partnership with Public Health England, supported by the Department of Health, to deliver the national seasonal flu campaign for NHS staff.