Because there strict guidelines on which patients should receive this vaccine, we are not allowing these appointments to be booked via the Internet - you will have to book in person or over the telephone. Can I suggest that you avoid calling before 11am for these appointments, as this is our busiest time?
We would ask you not to book routine appointments just to obtain a seasonal Flu jab as there are separate clinics set up for this. We will alway offer a Flu jab to eligible patients during consultations for other conditions between October and December (if we forget, please just ask the GP or Nurse)
The national policy is that influenza vaccine should be offered to the following groups.
- All those aged 65 years and over
- All those aged 6 months or over in a clinical risk group:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including
- chronic bronchitis and emphysema; bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung fibrosis, pneumoconiosis and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)
- Children who have previously been admitted to hospital for lower respiratory tract disease
- Chronic heart disease
- Congenital heart disease
- Hypertension with cardiac complications
- Individuals requiring regular medication and/or follow-up for ischaemic heart disease
- Chronic heart failure
- Chronic renal disease
- Chronic renal failure
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Renal transplantation
- Chronic liver disease
- Cirrhosis
- Biliary artesia
- Chronic hepatitis
- Chronic neurological disease
- Stroke
- Transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
- Diabetes
- Type 1 diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes requiring insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs
- Diet controlled diabetes
- Immunosuppression
- Immunosupression due to disease or treatment
- Patients undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression
- Asplenia or splenic dysfunction
- HIV infection
- Individuals treated with or likely to be treated with systemic steroids for more than a month at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20mg or more per day (any age) or for children under 20kg a dose of 1mg or more per kg per day.
- some immunocompromised patients may have a suboptimal
- Those living in long-stay residential care homes or other long-stay care facilities where rapid spread is likely to follow introduction of infection and cause high morbidity and mortality. This does not include prisons, young offender institutions, university halls of residence, etc.
- Those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill. This should be given on an individual basis at the GP’s discretion in the context of
other clinical risk groups in their practice.