Last drop in clinics for Flu vaccinations Schedule

* Last Influenza Clinics *

ATTENTION FOR ALL MEDICAL STUDENTS:

PLEASE inform the Flu Vaccinator when entering the clinic that you are a Medical Student

 

 The last drop in clinics for ‘flu vaccinations are being held on:

Seasonal Influenza Main Office (Gloucester) Services (Drop-in Only)

There are no more clinics in Gloucester

 

 Seasonal Influenza Main Office (Cheltenham) Services (Drop-in Only)

There are no more clinics in Cheltenham

New Employee Health Clearance Process

From 1st January 2011 Working Well implemented a revised, simplified health clearance process for new staff in line with recent changes to the law and NHS guidance. We hope that staff will find the new system easier, quicker and more helpful but any new process may produce unforeseen difficulties and we therefore intend to review the system in 3 months time so that any issues identified can be addressed.

Recruiting managers will be required to ensure that a risk assessment is undertaken for any post being advertised. Greater detail about any health or fitness standards for the post will be required in the Person Specification. Guidance to help you consider possible risks can be found on the Information sheet accompanying this brief but HR or Working Well Occupational Health can provide further advice.

All new staff will be sent a welcome letter from Working Well occupational health (WW1) and the recruiting manager should include this with the offer letter. Posts are now divided into clinical and non clinical and the definitions for these groups can also be found in the Information sheet.

Non clinical staff will be sent a Health Declaration (WW2) with their offer letter which is returned to the recruiting manager. If the new employee answers “No” and all other checks are satisfactory, then the appointment can go ahead without further input from Occupational Health. If the prospective employee answers “Yes” the recruiting manager should complete the identification form (WW3) and attach it to WW2, sending both through to Working Well for assessment in the usual way. It is very important that the manager completes all the information requested on WW3 including the section about Job Hazards.

For clinical staff, the recruiting manager will send out the Short Health Declaration (WW4) with the job offer letter, having completed the relevant manager’s sections on the form. This form will be returned to Working Well who will assess this and respond by email wherever possible. Staff with clinical contact should also be sent WW5 asking them to provide appropriate evidence of vaccination and immunity. A proportion of staff will be required to undertake exposure prone procedures (for an explanation of this please see the Information Sheet). These staff will also require WW6 to be sent to them in addition to the other paperwork.

Working Well will send you a fitness slip by email, within 48 hours unless further information is required. Information regarding the immunity assessment will be sent separately and updated as appropriate so that managers can retain up to date information about staff immunity on file.

In specific situations, further assessment will also be required and these include:
 Food handlers
 Night workers
 Regular use of latex gloves.

Explanations of these categories can be found on the Information Sheet and where applicable, the relevant form should be sent to the new employee. These forms are also “health declarations” and need only be forwarded to occupational health in the case of a positive response. The manager can retain the form on the personal file in order to comply with various pieces of legislation.

The same process will apply to volunteer and non-substantive staff. An individual assessment of the need for vaccinations and immunity checks will be made in these cases because of the marked variation in duties.

Your HR departments have been briefed about these changes. Please let us know if you have any concerns or encounter any difficulties so that we can make any amendments as necessary.

Forms and Policies can be found at:

http://www.workingwell2gether.nhs.uk/0n-line-questionnaire/policies

EXTENDED SEASONAL INFLUENZA PROGRAMME

We have completed our planned 10 week programme for NHS employees where we administered an unprecedented amount of over 50 clinics in over 15 locations throughout Gloucestershire. Thank you for everyone who has been able to attend our clinics. We have chosen to extend our programme into 2011 and have setup additional Seasonal Influenza Drop-In Clinic Sessions which are available to NHS staff from Gloucestershire.

If these are unsuitable then there are a very limited number of appointments available at our routine immunisation clinics within our offices. To avoid disappointment, and to minimise an impact on core occupational health services please utilise the specific drop-in sessions noted above wherever possible or call us to discuss availability and to book an appointment.

**To avoid disappointment please bring with you your employee identification badge. Without this you may be refused your vaccine**

ATTENTION FOR ALL MEDICAL STUDENTS:

PLEASE inform the Flu Vaccinator when entering the clinic that you are a medical student

 

Seasonal Influenza Main Office (Gloucester) Services (Drop-in Only)

15 th December 2010	14:30pm-16:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
20 th December 2010	14:00pm-16:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
30th December 2010	10:00am-12:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
30th December 2010	14:00pm-16:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
4th January 2011	09:00am-11:30am	Working Well Cheltenham Satellite Clinic, 2 College Lawn, Cheltenham General Hospital
4th January 2011	10:45am-11:15am	Working Well Moreton Satellite Clinic, Moreton Hospital
4th January 2011	14:00pm-16:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
5thJanuary 2011	11:00am-14:00pm	Various Ward Level Locations in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Details TBC
6thJanuary 2011	12:30pm-14:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
6thJanuary 2011	12:30pm-14:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
6thJanuary 2011	12:30pm-14:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
17thJanuary 2011	13:30pm-16:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
21st January 2011	13:30pm-16:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN
28 th January 2011	13:30pm-16:00pm	Working Well Main Office, Gloucester Royal Hospital,GL1 3NN

 Seasonal Influenza Main Office (Cheltenham) Services (Drop-in Only)

19 th January 2011	13:30pm-16:00pm	Working Well Cheltenham Satellite Clinic, 2 College Lawn, Cheltenham General Hospital
25 th January 2011	13:30pm-16:00pm	Working Well Cheltenham Satellite Clinic, 2 College Lawn, Cheltenham General Hospital
1st th February 2011	13:30pm-16:00pm	Working Well Cheltenham Satellite Clinic, 2 College Lawn, Cheltenham General Hospital

World Aids Day – December 1st 2010

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The World AIDS Day theme for 2010 is ‘Universal Access and Human Rights’. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

The protection of human rights is fundamental to combating the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. By promoting individual human rights, new infections can be prevented and people who have HIV can live free from discrimination. Access for all to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support is a critical part of human rights.

Facts and Stats
UK Stats
More people than ever are living with HIV in the UK and each year new infections occur.
People living with HIV in the UK

• The number of people living with HIV in the UK has trebled in the last 10 years
• More than 90,000 people are living with HIV in the UK
• Over a quarter of people with HIV in the UK are undiagnosed
• About two thirds of people living with HIV are men and a third are women
• Over half of all people living with HIV are aged between 30 and 44, but there are significant numbers both of young people and older people now living with HIV

New HIV cases in 2008
• 7,298 new diagnoses.
• The two groups most affected remain gay and bisexual men and black African heterosexuals. Three-quarters of people diagnosed were among these two groups.
• 2,760 new diagnoses among men who have sex with men
• 2,790 new diagnoses among people from black and minority ethnic communities
All figures from the Health Protection Agency report: HIV in the United Kingdom: 2009 Report.

What is HIV?
HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system – the body’s defence against diseases.

Are HIV and AIDS the same?
No. When someone is described as living with HIV, they have the HIV virus in their body. A person is considered to have developed AIDS when the immune system is so weak it can no longer fight off a range of diseases with which it would normally cope.

How is HIV passed on?
HIV can be passed on through infected blood, semen, vaginal fluids or breast milk.
The most common ways HIV is passed on are:
• Sex without a condom with someone living with HIV
• Sharing infected needles, syringes or other injecting drug equipment
• From an HIV-positive mother (to her child) during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding (but with effective treatment and care the risk of transmission can be greatly reduced)
HIV is not spread through day-to-day contact, touching, kissing or sharing utensils. In addition, being on HIV treatment makes people with HIV far less likely to pass it on.

How can I protect myself and others from HIV infection?
Always use a condom when having vaginal or anal sex. You can get free condoms from a sexual health clinic. Never share needles, syringes or any other injecting equipment.

Always report contaminations injuries to Working Well Occupational Health on 08454225165, so that your risk can be assessed and appropriate advice and follow up can be given.
Only one HCW had a documented HIV seroconversion between 1996-2004, due to a needlestick injury and this was despite triple HIV PEP being administered. The seroconversion occurred as a result of a percutaneous exposure from a hollowbore needle. The source patient had AIDS and the HCW tested positive for HIV 90 days after the exposure. (Eye of the Needle- Health Protection Agency 2005)

New Website Online

New Working Well website is online! Wednesday 1st September 2010 saw the release of the Service’s new look website, celebrating the new name and soft relaunch of the Service.

Dr Sue Hunt, Associate Medical Director for Working Well said “I’m really impressed with all the hardwork and effort that our team have invested to ensure our new site is professional and easy to use. We hope that all our prospective and existing clients will find real value in the resources available”.

The service has undergone radical transformations over the last 18 months to improve efficiency and embrace technological development. Chris Woon, Service Director added “The new website is only a piece in the jigsaw, but one that we hope will continue to strengthen our position as an Occupational Health provider of choice for small and medium size businesses”.

New Service Name

From Monday 5th July 2010 ‘Gloucestershire County NHS Occupational Health Service’ changed its Service Name to ‘Working Well’.

“This change came from a need to freshen our image and remove the ambiguity about what Occupational Health is” said Chris Woon, Service Director of Working Well”. “We hope this is a simpler and clearer message which all our users and commissioners can understand”.

The Strategic Service Unit, as part of 2gether NHS Foundation Trust also are moving away from using the less understood ‘Occupational Health’ term to adopt ‘Staff Health and Wellbeing’ instead. “To help the transition we will slowly phase out our use of the term Occupational Health” said Judith Evans, Service Administration Manager for the Unit.