29th July 2020
The flu is extremely common within the UK, infecting a large portion of the population and resulting in around 10,000 deaths each year. It is highly contagious and is most prevalent during the winter season. With flu season therefore just around the corner, flu immunisation is essential in helping to prevent unnecessary deaths, especially within those groups most at risk. Those most at risk and eligible for free flu vaccines are:
Ensuring your flu vaccination training is up to date is paramount in order to safely administer vaccinations to the most vulnerable.
Within the UK, training is a mandatory legal requirement for all staff involved in the management or administration of vaccinations and immunisations across all branches of the healthcare sector. Both flu vaccination training for pharmacists and flu vaccination training for nurses and care providers is frequently refreshed in order to ensure best practice is followed and staff are ready for the upcoming flu season. Face to face training is required to be completed every 3 years as a minimum however, many organisations like to retrain staff annually.
Currently in the height of a global pandemic, you may be wondering what this means in terms of face to face training, after all the flu is not going away. Flu immunisation is arguably even more important this year in helping to prevent any more virus fatalities. It has also been said that those most at risk of COVID-19 are also most at risk of contracting the flu. By immunising against the flu, they have one less thing to worry about.
In terms of conducting face to face training, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and NHS England and NHS Improvement have issued a statement declaring that if healthcare practitioners have previously completed face to face training, and were due to complete refresher training this year, they now do not have to complete this until 2021. This is to reduce contact between people and prevent the spread of the virus. Online training is however recommended in order to ensure knowledge is up to date. Those who have never completed face to face vaccination training before must do so before administering flu jabs.
Having usually completed clinical skills training face to face, you may be concerned that online training will not be sufficient. As previously stated however, online training is designed only for those who have previously completed face to face flu vaccination training and require refresher knowledge. This means that delegates will already have some experience in this area, therefore, online training should be sufficient.
Whilst we cannot comment on the syllabus of vaccination training courses from other providers, we can provide an idea of content based on our own vaccination courses. We cover a wide range of topics including:
We will also perform demonstrations to accompany the theory, and can offer bespoke training solutions to ensure all the requirements of your organisation are met.
While face to face training can be superior in terms of allowing delegates to practice their clinical skills, it can also be inconvenient in terms of travel and time. Online training is super flexible, can be delivered at a time and location suitable to you and still provides all the necessary knowledge and information required to safely administer flu vaccinations.
For more information on flu vaccination training or to enquire about our bespoke online training solutions, get in touch. You can call, email or send an online form and we will get back to you!