Wessex Seasonal Influenza
Vaccination Programme Plan
2015/16
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01 August 2017
Wessex Seasonal Influenza
Vaccination Programme Plan 2015/16
Prepared by
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David Harris, Screening and Immunisation Manager
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Amendment History
Issue Date
Author
Reason
0.1
17th August 2015 DH
First draft
0.2
18th August 2015
DH
Following comments by
SIL DS
V1
20th August 2015
DH
Final
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1.
Executive Summary and Actions Required
This programme plan provides the rationale for the Seasonal influenza
immunisation programme in Wessex. It gives an overview of the work the
Screening and Immunisation Public Health team will be undertaking to ensure:
1. Continuation of vaccination of the over 65’s, those at clinical risk of
seasonal flu and to prioritise pregnant women, those with learning
disabilities and diabetes in 2015/16
2. Expansion of the childhood seasonal flu vaccination programme for those
aged five and six (school years 1&2) and continuation of those aged two,
three and four years.
2.
Introduction and Overview
Influenza is an acute viral infection of the respiratory tract. There are three types
of influenza virus: A, B and C. Influenza A and influenza B are responsible for
most clinical illness. The disease is characterised by the sudden onset of fever,
chills, headache, myalgia and extreme fatigue. Other common symptoms include
a dry cough, sore throat and stuffy nose.
The risk of serious illness from influenza is higher amongst children under six
months of age, those aged over 65 and those with underlying health conditions
such as respiratory disease, cardiac disease or immunosuppression, and
pregnant women.
The following table is a summary of performance by CCG across Wessex, with
comparisons against Wessex and England averages for 2014/15.
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Summary of Flu Vaccine Uptake % 2014/15
Under
All
65 and
All
All
All
Org Name
65 (at- Pregnant
over
Aged 2 Aged 3 Aged 4
risk only) Women
NHS NORTH HAMPSHIRE CCG
73.0
51.7
45.8
41.6
45.6
35.9
NHS FAREHAM & GOSPORT CCG
74.7
51.3
40.3
48.1
52.3
40.0
NHS ISLE OF WIGHT CCG
71.1
50.3
37.4
43.6
39.4
31.6
NHS PORTSMOUTH CCG
74.0
51.7
42.9
36.5
43.2
32.3
NHS S. EASTERN HANTS CCG
75.7
55.9
47.0
46.0
47.7
37.0
NHS SOUTHAMPTON CCG
74.7
52.0
45.8
40.5
44.2
33.7
NHS WEST HAMPSHIRE CCG
74.5
52.3
44.9
49.2
51.9
39.9
NHS DORSET CCG
NHS N.E. HANTS & FARNHAM
CCG
71.8
46.6
43.1
43.3
46.3
35.6
74.9
54.1
48.3
46.5
46.8
34.9
WESSEX
73.4
50.8
44.3
44.2
47.1
36.2
ENGLAND
72.8
50.3
44.1
38.5
41.3
32.9
As demonstrated by the data in the table above Wessex has performed as well
as or better than the England average across all risk groups.
In 2015/16 the NHS is required to ensure that flu vaccination:

Reaches or exceeds 75% uptake for people aged 65 years and over; and
In the context of health outcomes, the influenza vaccine programme aims to:




Protect those who are most at risk of serious illness or death should they
develop influenza.
Reduce the transmission of infection, and thereby contribute to the
protection of vulnerable individuals who may have suboptimal response to
their own immunisation
Achieve high coverage across all groups identified
Minimise adverse physical/psychological/clinical aspects of immunisation
(e.g. anxiety, adverse reactions).
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3.
An Overview of the 2015/16 Plan
NHS England has agreed responsibilities for the seasonal flu programme under a
Section 7A agreement with the Secretary of State for Health (‘Public Health
Functions to be exercised by the NHS Commissioning Board’).
NHS England has historically commissioned routine Seasonal Influenza
vaccination via Enhanced Services with General Practices. The Enhanced
Service requires NHS England to operate, establish or revise an influenza
immunisation scheme under primary medical services contracts. The Enhanced
Service covers securing flu immunisation services for the majority of the at risk
groups.
In addition to the Enhanced Service in 2015/16 a national Advanced Service has
been introduced. Community pharmacies will be able to offer NHS flu
vaccinations to adult patients aged 18 and over at the time of vaccination, who
are defined as at risk in the Annual Flu letter (which includes patients aged 65
years old and over). This service will replace the local pharmacy service.
To increase uptake amongst pregnant women in 2015/16, NHS England South
(Wessex) will pilot vaccination services in a number of maternity units across
Wessex.
The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCIV) has recommended
that the routine annual flu immunisation programme be extended to all children
aged two to under 17 years. The extended programme is expected to
appreciably lower the public health impact of flu by directly averting a large
number of cases of disease in children, and, through lowering flu transmission in
the community, indirectly preventing flu in unvaccinated younger children, people
in clinical risk groups, and older adults. This is expected to substantially reduce
flu-related illness, GP consultations, hospital admissions and deaths. JCVI found
that extending the flu immunisation programme in this way is likely to be highly
cost effective.
Extending the flu immunisation programme to all children will also raise
awareness of the benefits of flu immunisation amongst parents and children. We
anticipate that as flu immunisation for children becomes accepted as routine, this
will have a positive impact on uptake rates for others who are eligible for flu
immunisation, particularly those in clinical groups for whom the risk of serious
complications is highest, and for whom coverage is presently only around 50%.
There are two elements to the children’s flu immunisation programme this year:
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1. A routine offer from GPs of vaccination to all two, three and four year olds
(but not five years or older) on the 31st August 2015; and
2. A school based programme for all children eligible for schooling in years 1
and 2 (i.e. 5 and 6 years olds)
4.
Health Care Workers
Frontline health and social care workers have a duty of care to protect their
patients and service users from infection. This includes being vaccinated against
flu. The impact of flu on frail and vulnerable patients in communities, care homes,
and in hospitals can be fatal.
NHS organisations and local authorities need to ensure that appropriate
measures are in place for offering flu vaccination to their health and social care
workers with direct patient contact.
This service is organised locally by these employers, often through the
occupational health service for those organisations with one. GPs will only be
involved in providing this part of the vaccination programme where this has been
agreed locally. However, GP practices need to encourage and facilitate flu
vaccination of their own staff through occupational health.
5.
Key assumptions and dependencies
As indicated in the National Flu Plan 2015/16 all sectors of the health service
have a part to play in protecting the health of their population which includes
promoting and delivering flu vaccinations.
NHS England Wessex will work in partnership with Clinical Commissioning
Groups (CCGs) as commissioners of acute and community NHS providers and
through their primary care improvement role to increase vaccination uptake and
coverage rate.
We will also work in partnership with Local Authorities as commissioners of adult
and social care providers and residential care and via Public Health teams
through its duty to take such steps as it considers appropriate for improving the
health of the people in its area. Local Authorities also have a responsibility for
school nursing services which will be providing the school aged vaccination
service in Wessex.
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7.
Communication
Clear and timely communication is vital to ensure that all parties involved in
managing flu understand their roles and are equipped with the necessary
information.
While communications will take place within an overarching flu communications
strategy, some elements of the communications campaign will be dictated by the
severity of the flu season and subsequent impact on at-risk groups. Therefore, it
will be important to maintain a flexible approach so that appropriate channels are
used to maximise impact and ensure that messages are clear, consistent and
relevant to the target audiences.
For the 2015/16 flu season, a key objective of our communications strategy is to
sustain communications to maintain public confidence in the programme and try
and limit the impact that vaccine effectiveness findings and subsequent media
coverage in 2014/15 will have on uptake in 2015/16.
8.
Seasonal Flu Vaccination Providers
The table below demonstrates providers of seasonal flu vaccination across
Wessex for 2015/16.
Target population
Provider
2, 3 and 4 year olds (defined as children aged 2, 3 or 4 GPs
years but less than 5 years of age on 31st August 2015)
All children eligible for schooling in years 1 and 2 (i.e. 5/6 School based*
years olds)
Excluding


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those requiring inactivated vaccine and
those in at risk groups who are vaccine naïve
(dose 2 will be given at GP surgeries)
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All those in a clinical risk group 6 months and over
GPs
All those in a clinical risk group 18 and over
Pharmacies** (&
GPs)
Pregnant women
GPs
Pharmacies
IOW Trust
Frimley Park FT
HHFT
Poole Hospital
Portsmouth
Hospitals
65s and over
GPs &
Pharmacies**
*A procurement exercise has been undertaken and NHS England South
(Wessex) has a preferred bidder for each locality. As soon as the contracts have
been agreed we will inform partners of the successful organisations.
** All pharmacies will be eligible to sign up to the advance service.
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9.
Appendices
Tripartite letter
Annual_flu_letter_24_
03_15__FINALv3_para9.pdf
Tripartite Winter Flu Plan
Flu_Plan_Winter_201
5_to_2016.pdf
Flu and pneumococcal specification
seasnl-flu-pneumococ
cal.pdf
Childhood flu specification
chldhd-seasnl-inflnza15-16 (1).pdf
Integrated communications plan
INTEGRATED
SEASONAL FLU COMMS STRATEGY 15 16 FINAL.docx
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