Flu is a dangerous virus, that kills thousands every year.  The flu vaccine is the best protection for you and those around you.

You should arrange an appointment for your free vaccination against flu if:

• You are aged 65 or over.
• Have a long-term health condition like diabetes, heart conditions or severe lung problems.
• If you live in a nursing or residential home
• If you're pregnant, flu can harm you and your baby.
• It spreads quickly among children. That's why we are inviting children age 2-3 years old to get theire vaccine.

Flu can easily spread to those around you who are vulnerable. If you live with someone on the NHS shielded patient list or are a carer, the flu vaccine is the best protection for them.

If you work in a care home or are a domiciliary care worker, you can also have a free vaccine to prevent spread of the virus to those who are vulnerable.

This is not a full list of those who are eligible for the free flu vaccine, ask the receptionist to see if you qualify.

Saturday clinics are now available for booking your influenza vaccines if you are in one of the following groups:

• Aged 65 or over on 31/3/2023
• Aged 18 - 64 and in one of the at risk groups
• Live in a care home or residential home
• Are currently pregnant
• Are a carer

Clinics will run from 09:00 - 16:30 on Saturday 8th October, 15th October and 22nd October, you can request an appointment using our online booking form https://www.online-consult.co.uk/org/field-house-medical-group/start/1801/4592 or by calling reception on 01472 254600 between the hours of 16:00 and 18:00.  Appointments are also available for booking at the reception desk.

Children under 18 who are at risk or eligible for a vaccination will be offered an appointment in the surgery for the nasal vaccination.

Clinics will be available during normal working hours from the beginning of October.  

The government is recommending patients aged 50 - 64 who are not in an at risk group are offered a seasonal flu vaccination in 2022/23, the practice will be contacting patients after the at risk groups.

In total 574 people completed this survey with a mix of patient from Field House, Littlefield and Woodford Medical practices.

We asked you on a scale of 1-10, considering your overall experience during our flu clinic, how likely would you be to recommend us to a friend or colleague? The average score returned was 9.75

We also asked you the following questions by which you responded with...

How satisfied were you with the following:

Considering your overall experience, how do you rate the following:

We then asked you how we could improve on these clinics in the future, these are some of your responses and how we can address them in the planning of the 2021/22 influenza vaccination clinics.

You asked if there could be a waiting area within the building.

Unfortunately, due to the risks around the COVID pandemic and many of our patients being within those high-risk groups we will not be able to provide an indoor waiting area.  There were very few situations when we ended up with a queue outside the building last year and this was usually due to a problem with the booking.  We are setting up a small area to the side within the building where these situations can be handled to prevent a queue forming, otherwise we are asking all patients to arrive only a minute or two before the time of their appointment to prevent any queuing outside.

You asked for us to make the one-way system clearer.

We will aim to improve the signs within the practice to make the one-way system clearer for all to navigate.

You asked for hand sanitising stations at the exit.

A hand sanitising machine will be positioned at the exit for you to use.

You asked about temperature checking at the entrance.

This is no longer a requirement for entering the building at Freshney Green and if we tried to introduce it at the flu clinics it would slow the flow of patients into the building.  To offset any risk by not temperature checking patients we still require everyone who enters the building to wear a face covering.

You asked for there could be an option to complete an electronic patient survey or have a post box available for replies.

We will create an electronic option for the survey and there will be a post box at the exit for your completed responses.  This will be left on the ground floor reception desk throughout the week in case you want to drop off your response later.

You mentioned queues on the phone for booking.

To prevent queues this year we have an electronic form you can complete to request an appointment (available on the practice website, look for online consultations), we will then text you with a time and date for your appointment.  For those that do not have internet access then we ask you to call off peak hours (16:00 – 18:00) to book your appointment.

You had concerns about confidentiality and privacy within the cubical. 

Though we make every effort to protect your confidentiality and modesty we realise these cubicles are more open than clinical rooms. In normal circumstances, the vaccination programme would be very different, However, the pandemic has meant we had to significantly change the delivery of the vaccines so that the environment is safe enough for people to attend and keep safe from virus transmission. Many mass vaccination centres do not offer any partition between the patients being vaccinated. We felt the screens were a fair solution.

In order to mitigate this situation, we ask all patients to wear loose, easy access clothing to preserve modesty.  If you are in a queue at the front desk, please leave enough space from the person in front of you to allow them to pass on their private information.  If you do not feel comfortable in the cubical setting, please ask for a weekday appointment within the practice when you will be seen within a clinical room.