To think free flu jabs for NHS admin staff is ridiculous??

[thisisjustridiculous]

My SIL is admin staff in the NHS, she has no patient contact and no real contact with medical staff, beyond half an hour a week.

She’s just got a free flu jab! AIBU to think this is disgusting? It must cost the NHS so much, admin staff should have to pay. I agree that frontline staff should get it for free to protect the vulnerable but admin staff shouldn’t.

Lots of employers pay for it to minimise sick leave. The NHS have obviously considered the cost v the benefit of being fully staffed.

Seems reasonable to provide free flu vaccine for those who work in a hospital setting and may come into contact with vulnerable pts. Probably cost effective for the taxpayer and patients when weighed against potential sick leave and disruption costs.

So she does have contact with medical staff - regardless of whether it’s half an hour a week. You don’t think someone who works in a medical setting and has weekly contact with medial staff should get a flu jab through their employer? What on earth is wrong with you, OP?

Oh dear....Of all the things to be upset about!

How stupid are you?!

NHS is so short staffed in ALL areas, it cannot afford to have people off. If our admin team at work are sick then we wouldn’t be able to send clinic letters, accept referrals into our service or set up appointments… and many other things but that’s just a few examples. I’m clinical staff and we rely so heavily on our amazing admin team! Also our admin staff work in spaces where patients are so if they’re spreading flu around the building it will impact patients and clinical staff, not to mention it protects them too.

YABU.

It costs the employer very little and decreases the risk that high-value operations will be disrupted.

It's called prevention.

Insane take.

1. tiny perk of the job of which there are very few - have none of your jobs ever come with the odd benefit?
2. keeps down staff sickness to protect already overwhelmed and understaffed services
3. so what if they’re not getting close to patients? They’re in the hospital/clinics, interacting with staff who then interact with patients, so it still protects patients. Germs spread.
4. why would you be jealous of a little flu jab? You could always have a look on trac if you want in!

okay, so taking this at face value

the admin staff get refused the flu jab

they get sick during the incubation period, wander around work and give it to the frontline staff etc etc

Huh?

Come on you’re being silly now!
You can’t say on one hand that it’s really important - and then say that the employees need to pay for it themselves 🤣

As a pp said, it doesn’t cost the NHS £15 to give a jab to one of their own employees. Whatever it costs, it’s less than having admin staff off sick. It’s good management!

YABU - without our admin staff our service would grind to a halt and patient care would be compromised.

My husband works in the private sector, his firm offer free flu jabs which I imagine is less to do with concern for staff wellbeing than productivity levels if people are off sick. It must be similarly cost effective for the NHS.

I have never had any job that didn’t offer a free flu jab, public or private. This is a weird flex op. Maybe consider the economics of the situation?

So you’re quoting £15 but it doesn’t cost anywhere near that- that already have flu clinics set up and the cost per vaccine is minimal, it’s happened for years and is justified by various reasons
a) if admin staff are having it this may encourage clinical staff
b) nowhere near the amount of eligible clinical staff have them
c) it reduces the risk of spread/outbreak
d) sickness cost reduction.

it’s not like NHS admin are getting company cars or something! It’s a bloody flu jab

They are in contact constantly with people who do have patient contact presumably? And if they're off sick then whole system would break down?
Would you like a surgery to be delayed because all the admins were off sick and didn't process any paperwork at all?

This. Our admin staff constantly come into contact with us front line staff. We work with very vulnerable people so if they pass it to us, we could in turn pass it onto people whom it could literally kill.

You’re making yourself look like a complete idiot op

nobody would pay to have it so then there would be high likely PAID sick leave

I was off nearly 3 weeks last year from work with the flu

Nhs admin staff are essential too. Jeez. Think outside the box op

Stte.
Of course YABU! 😂

The flu jab isn’t just about protecting patients you have direct contact with. NHS admin staff are part of the same healthcare system, share workplaces and corridors, use the same facilities and can still catch and spread flu to colleagues who do have patient contact.

The cost of vaccinating staff is also tiny compared with the potential cost of staff sickness, staffing problems and disruption to NHS services during flu season. It’s a preventative measure, not a perk.

Singling out admin staff because they aren’t clinically trained ignores the fact that the NHS needs far more than doctors and nurses to function!!! Records, referrals, test results, letters ect aren't magically updated, sent, relayed ect.

The net cost of the flu jab is an £87 saving to the employer.

Thanks NHS for saving taxpayer's money by offering free flu jabs to your staff. Thanks to all the staff who take up the jabs.

Of course it’s free for them. Higher uptake less risk less cost with staff absence. It’s a no brainier. I also get it for free because my employer also pays for it.

No, they should be free. Admins staff absences impact crucial admin over surgical theatre allocation, staffing, stocks of medical supplies, staff rostering, equipment maintenance as well as patient waiting list management and so on. Our NHS is crumbling already, we don’t need to add another preventable negative impact to the coming winter season.

Actually, it is cost effective for the tax-payer. It is cheaper to provide a jab (especially at the NHS inhouse price) than to pay for even a half day of sick leave.

You really don't know how the NHS works do you, or how flu travels.

Yes makes sense, it’s clearly an investment that pays off.

It's not a live vaccine so it can't give you flu.
More likely you had already been exposed to the virus before getting the vaccine, or you caught a strain that was not covered by vaccine.
Also it takes a couple of weeks for immunity to develop so if it happened soon after getting it, one of the above scenarios is most likely.
Some people think they have flu when it is in fact a cold too, not saying this is what happened in your case as you haven't said what your symptoms were.