9 October 2019
NHS Flu Jab Campaign

Today Sir Mike Penning MP visited Woods pharmacy in Hemel Hempstead to receive a flu vaccination as part of the national pharmacy NHS flu vaccination service. Community pharmacy teams in Hertfordshire are starting to offer free NHS flu jabs as they help support efforts to keep flu levels at a minimum.

Sir Mike Penning gets his flu jab at Woods Pharmacy in Bellgate to promote the NHS flu vaccination campaign

As part of the NHS Flu Vaccination Service, all adults aged 65 years and over, and those aged 18 years or over and in clinical risk groups, can receive a free of charge NHS flu jab at community pharmacies across Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire, often without the need for an appointment. People in at-risk groups include pregnant women and those with certain medical conditions including asthma and diabetes. Pharmacists will be administering the same flu jab as those offered by GPs, and patients’ GP practices will be notified that they have been vaccinated.

During the visit Sir Mike met Mr Raj Patel. They discussed the service, the benefits to patients and Mike received a flu vaccination.

Mr Raj Patel, pharmacist, comments: “As a community pharmacist, I am really excited about the start of this year’s Flu Vaccination Service. We are keen to work with colleagues in general practice to help ensure that as many eligible people as possible are vaccinated this year.

I have been offering vaccinations and other public health services for several years and my patients have been extremely positive about these. There is so much that community pharmacists and their teams can do to help people with their medicines and their health.

Community pharmacies are the most accessible healthcare locations; we offer convenient access to medicines and a range of services without the need for an appointment. Patients value the convenience of being able to choose to have their NHS flu jab from their local pharmacy.”

Sir Mike commented, "The NHS flu vaccination service is an excellent service and so accessible, with no appointments required. It only takes a few minutes and many patients are loyal to their pharmacy, so everyone knows each other quite well, making it an easy experience. The vaccination will help protect people through the winter months avoiding an illness that can have serious consequences. I encourage at-risk people in Hemel Hempstead to make sure they get their flu jab."

The NHS Flu Vaccination Service provided by community pharmacists offers people a convenient location in which to be vaccinated, often on a walk-in basis. This can help the NHS to ensure that as many people as possible who need the vaccination, receive it, helping to meet World Health Organization vaccination targets. Patients have been overwhelmingly positive in their feedback on the pharmacy service in the past.

Community pharmacists in 9,071 pharmacies across England provided 1,431,538 flu jabs to patients under the national NHS Flu Vaccination Service in 2018/19. On average, 158 flu jabs were carried out by each participating pharmacy.