Nurses warned to get swine flu vaccine

NURSES have been warned they have a professional responsibility to their patients to avail of the swine flu jab as soon as the vaccine becomes available.

The chief nursing officer of the Department of Health and the HSE director of nursing wrote this week to all nursing staff advising them of their duty of care to their patients and themselves to protect against infection.

The letter had the backing of the main nursing union, the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) and An Bord Altranais, the nursing regulatory body. Its dispatch coincided with the findings of a British survey, published last week, which found a third of frontline nurses do not want the jab.

The online survey, conducted by Britain’s main nursing weekly, Nursing Times, found high among the reasons for rejecting the vaccine were concerns about its safety, and a perception of the infection as “mild”.

The British health service estimates swine flu could leave up to 12% of its workforce on sick leave at any one time.

Here, the HSE is planning comprehensive training and communication programmes to encourage vaccination among healthcare workers. However, a date for delivery of the vaccine is not yet known.

Dr Kevin Kelleher, HSE head of health protection, said the best estimate is mid-to late October. Ireland has an agreement with two vaccine manufacturers to provide a vaccine for the entire population.

“The delivery schedule is dependent on vaccine yield in the manufacturing process and, while delivery dates have yet to be determined by the manufacturer, it is envisaged that vaccine delivery will commence in the autumn,” Dr Kelleher said. This is subject to the vaccine being licensed by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). A decision on this is expected at the end of September.