Frontline NHS staff snub jabs

More than two thirds of frontline hospital staff ignored pleas to have the flu jab, figures showed today as NHS bosses urged frontline workers to be vaccinated.

Across the Midlands only a third of all doctors and nurses had the jab last winter, increasing the risk of flu spreading among patients and hospital staff. There is also widespread variation between hospitals and the amount of staff prepared to have the injection, figures from each trust show.

Stafford and Walsall hospitals performed worst with only a quarter of frontline workers getting the jab during 2010/11.

At Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital 30 per cent of staff had the jab during the same period, while at Dudley it was 31.9 per cent.

Best performer was the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust which managed 43 per cent. West Midlands Ambulance Service managed to persuade less than 20 per cent of staff to get the jab.