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.

Flu tends to have a specific set of characteristics, if it has symptoms, such as rapid onset, high temperature, fatigue, (plus other symptoms), but not a snotty nose or slow onset. TV often portrays cold as flu due to the lack of visible symptoms of flu (I'm looking at you, Frasier).

OP you are just embarrassing yourself.

It's purely about cutting sick leave. My private company reimburses any staff member for the cost of a flu vaccination

@Summergarden I am a teacher in Scotland so there’s no academy trusts and schools do not have the same level of financial autonomy they do in England. My school did organise and pay for flu jabs for those who wanted them for a few years but are no longer allowed to do this. We have to organise and pay privately. I’m not against paying the minimal charge but when I tried to arrange one last November/December there was a massive run on them and pharmacies restricted them to the most needy. I had an appointment at Asda the week before Christmas but they cancelled it as they couldn’t get stock.

I can get it free if I want at work and I’m at Amazon so I’m really not surprised that NHS admin are getting it free

Seriously?

You are angry because your SIL got a free flu jab. That's just petty.

The bigger picture is that it helps the NHS to function and is better for patients if their office staff are able to be at work rather than at home with the flu....

I’ve been offered it for free because of a health condition I don’t even have anymore.

I wasn’t going to take them up on their kind offer, but I might now!

So who's going to run the place when your SIL and her colleagues get sick?

You are missing the bigger picture. I work in NHS admin and some of our admin teams are so short staffed due to sickness that there are not enough staff to book patients in, resulting in cancelled clinics, wasted resources and longer waiting times for patients. If offering free flu jabs helps to reduce staff sickness levels and get patients seen more quickly then that can only be a good thing for everyone.

And there it is

Exactly, NHS would grind to a halt if supplies weren’t ordered, labs not tested, appointments weren’t appointed, machines weren’t serviced, kitchen staff couldn’t cook, plus the copious other none patient facing roles I can’t think of. Some people are very short sighted.

I'd love to see anyone getting an appointment when the admin dept are all off sick with flu!

I also work in a public sector job and am offered a free flu jab by work (already get one for health reasons but hey ho) and it means everything doesn't bring to a halt over winter. You come across as very petty and spiteful op!

Someone does like their sister in law…..

mine is also in the NHS but, even worse, a manager in a trust. She gets laid half of what I do for a job that, to me, seems to consist of calming down rude consultants. A free flu jab is the ,east she deserves. She’s my hero and I’d personally pay for her to have one if her workplace didn’t. I guess that’s ok for the OP as I’m a net contributor? —as is my sister in law actually—

Hmmm, flu can have a wide range of symptoms, and we don't have very good data on what's the most typical response to a flu infection. The poster wasn't necessarily even symptomatic, she could know she had flu because she tested.

Definitely agree TV doesn't help here!

@thisisjustridiculous

you state teachers are essential so are admin staff in the nhs! Who books appointments, sorts out consultants, sends out letters for appointments, arranges tests etc, all admin staff, all needed t9 ensure the nhs doesn’t finally creak to a stop

you are just sounding very bitter towards your SIL who actually does play an important part in the NhS

i am more than happy they get free flu jabs and consider them just as essential as a teacher

This is one of the most pathetic posts I’ve read for a while.

And this thinking - that admin is not worth investing in - is partly why the NHS is in such a shocking state.

How do people Get their referral letters etc. if an administrator doesn't type/send it? Do you expect Dr's and Nurses to be doing thi

I'm guessing you meant she gets PAID rather than gets laid less...😄

This. You actually sound pissed off or jealous sister's been given a flu jab 😂

Many employers offer it for free. Mine does. A flu jab is £15, thats not far off an hours wage at minimum wage, nevermind people in high paid jobs. I think it should be offered to teachers etc as well.

Think about it - a flu jab for many jobs is less than an hours salary. Most people that get flu are off a week. Full time is 37 hours a week. So if they pay for 37 staff members to have the vaccine, if even one of them doesn't get flu that would have they have saved money. Especially if that person would have become patient zero and spread it to everyone else starting a staffing crisis.

Ridiculous comment. A hospital by nature is a breeding ground for stuff like the flu. They might not see many people but every handrail, door handle and lift button have germs. The cost to the NHS if they are off not too mention the cost of closing wards due to flu. It's called cutting risks. Imagine having to miss an appointment because clinics are cancelled due to an outbreak of flu. Sure that's worse.

NHS admin are also essential. How do you think appointments are made, results sent, treatments booked? The NHS would collapse without them. They’re very welcome to my taxes to keep them healthy in flu season. And not just because I rely on them to help me and family access the NHS but because they deserve it. As do many other people.

When I worked in a school we were all offered a ‘free’ flu jab.

Surely it's a pretty tiny perk, plus it stops days lost to sickness- surely a win for all of us.

Come on OP, tell us what your SIL did to you that made you hate her so much. 😆