Care home workers across the UK are being urged to get a flu vaccination after doctors warned that a widespread winter flu outbreak may be on the horizon. The NHS has recently announced that it’s bracing itself for a busy time following the widespread influenza outbreak in Australia and New Zealand in their last winter.
Health lobbyists are recommending that all care home workers get inoculated to protect both themselves and the elderly or vulnerable people they are caring for.
The NHS has set aside up to £10m in extra cash to fund the inoculation programme across the UK, meaning that anyone working within the care home sector can get vaccinated free of charge if they attend a community pharmacy with proof that they are employed within this sector. Many of the care home staff we place are agency workers, so may struggle to get free vaccinations.
QS Recruitment will be running clinics at our Head Office in Nottingham, where we will be providing free vaccinations to all our registered care workers.
Peter Gillespie, Managing Director of QS Recruitment said: “Care workers play a vital role in our society, providing amazing levels of support and care to people that need it most. It’s important that we look after the people who take care of the most vulnerable patients”.
“Many people with flu show no symptoms, meaning care workers who feel fit and healthy can unwittingly infect the people for whom they are caring. Getting vaccinated is the best way to stop the spread of influenza and can ultimately, help prevent more serious illnesses from developing or the risk of mortality”.
“As an employment agency, we take our responsibilities extremely seriously, which is why we are running a series of drop-in clinics to give our workers, who may not otherwise be able to access a free inoculation, the opportunity to get vaccinated at no cost”.
“This will give the Care Homes that we work for, the peace of mind that the workers we supply are vaccinated against flu”.
QS Recruitment will be running the first of its free clinics on 17 January at our office on Alfreton Road. For more information call our Head Office and speak to Peter.
