More than 40 per cent of frontline NHS staff are yet to have a flu jab despite being told they have a “professional responsibility” to get vaccinated, with MPs warning the NHS is heading for a “Christmas crisis”.
Figures on staff uptake of the free flu jab, released by Public Health England today, show 400,000 NHS staff who have direct patient contact are still at increased risk of winter flu.
Infectious disease experts said that low uptake could have “devastating effects” on nurse numbers and patients.
This comes as NHS England’s latest Weekly Winter Operational Update showed pressure on NHS bed space and A&Es continues to ratchet up, and an emergency planning update advised hospitals to cancel non-urgent operations until mid-January.
The health service is already braced for a particularly heavy bout of flu this winter.
Australia and New Zealand experienced their worst outbreaks for 20 years meaning more pressure on hospital beds, and more staff staying off work to prevent the infection spreading to patients.
To counter this NHS England launched a £10m campaign this autumn extending free vaccinations to care home staff.
It also wrote to all NHS doctors, nurses and health care workers reminding them of their “professional responsibility” to protect patients by ensuring they don’t get ill.
Now, provisional data from the end of November shows that 41 per cent of the one million NHS healthcare workers have yet to be vaccinated.
This is an increase on last year, when only 44 per cent of staff had the jab, but still leaves large numbers unprotected.
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust had some of the lowest vaccination rates, with just 29 per cent of its 2,648 staff protected.
Dr Neil Wigglesworth, president of the Infection Prevention Society (IPS), said “With the added threat of the Australian flu strain reaching Europe, front line nurses and their patients and colleagues are even more vulnerable.”
“Infection prevention through vaccination is critical to keep our workforce fighting fit.”
In the general public 71 per cent of over 65s had their free vaccine, but only around 40 to 45 per cent of at risk people, and young children.
NHS England’s National Emergency Pressures Panel said the health service should brace for the “surge” in patients at Christmas and New Year.
More staff and bed space are likely to be available in coming weeks because of the £335m allocated to the NHS for winter in the Autumn budget, it added.
But this investment falls well short of the £350m a week asked for by NHS England chief Simon Stevens.
The latest NHS update on winter performance shows that bed occupancy rose again, to 95 per cent, despite an accepted “safe” average of 85 per cent.
The Independent revealed this week that one fifth of NHS hospitals have run out of beds completely at least once in the first weeks of winter.
Hospital bosses said it was clear flu was having an impact.
Director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said: “The NHS has prepared for winter as never before, and now it is clear those plans are really being put to the test.
“It is likely that flu and recent cold weather is now beginning to bite.”
Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, a health minister in the previous Coalition government, challenged Theresa May to agree to a cross-party effort to put the NHS on a sustainable footing this week.
“These shocking figures show the NHS is entering a Christmas crisis,” he said.
National Emergency Pressures Panel Chair, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, said hospitals were advised to drop non-urgent operations until the new year.
“Given the scale of the challenge, hospitals should be planning for the surge that comes in the New Year by freeing up beds and staff where they can to care for our sickest patients,” he said.
