OUR team are leading the fight against the spread of winter flu!
St Luke's has been set a Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) target of achieving an 80 per cent uptake of the flu vaccine among clinical staff.
As part of that campaign, we have brought together a group of Flu Champions, who will be spreading the message about vaccination between now and the end of November.
And one of the first people to take advantage of the campaign was In Patient Centre Senior Sister Laura Chesters, who knows from personal experience just how dangerous and life-threatening flu can be.
Laura has a flu vaccination every year because she suffers from asthma and also because she is working directly with patients.
But in January this year – despite the precaution - she developed two strains of flu, made even worse by her asthma, and eventually found herself hospitalised for four days and then signed off work for almost six weeks.
“If I had not had the flu vaccination I am firmly of the belief that I could potentially have died,” she says.
“Because of my personal experience I am sharing my story and reminding people how important it is to get that flu jab.”
Our HR Manager Helen Day commented: “It is vital throughout the year that our teams maintain top levels of fitness but that becomes even more important at this time.
“We will be doing everything we can to encourage staff to take up the offer of vaccination and help safeguard against flu.”
For more information on how you can fight the flu this winter click here.