A hospital chief is set to raise with trades unions the issue of staff being made to have the flu vaccination this winter.
A meeting on Thursday heard that having the flu vaccination is only optional for many front line staff across the NHS, including Milton Keynes University Hospital, but that some members of the board want it made compulsory.
John Lisle, a non executive director of the hospital trust board said some staff have to have vaccinations, but it’s only optional for some on the front line.
Chief executive, Professor Joe Harrison said: “I am one of the individuals on the end of wanting to mandate it, and I think we have a role to continue to pressure the national bodies to make it mandatory.
“But I don’t think it’s appropriate and I think we would lose very quickly on a local implementation.”
Professor Harrison said he expected trades unions to object to any such change in their conditions of employment.
He said he would be raising the issue “today” (Thursday) with the unions.
“We would be asking the unions to support national pressure,” he said.
“I’m very happy to take that to our unions to see what reaction we get. It’s important to test that.”
Danielle Petch, the hospital’s director of workforce said the trust would be “alone” in making it mandatory.
But she added: “What we’ve done this year to strengthen our response is to say to people that they need to have their flu jab or opt out which is a much stronger line than we’ve used in previous years.”
They follow up with staff to encourage them to make a choice, she said.
Dr Ian Reckless, the hospital’s medical director, said the message has always previously been about preventing flu to prevent the inconvenience of staff absences.
But that the message should be “in reality lots of staff having flu and spreading that flu to vulnerable patients and kill people.”
He added: “Several members of the team are on the end of trying to make it compulsory.
“Nationally they got very close to it one year and then stood back but it’s not the kind of thing we can do solo.”
NIcky Burns-Muir, the director of patient care and chief nurse, said there could be a “different conversation” when the covid vaccine comes out.
” I think it will ignite that debate again about whether we have to mandate everybody having that,” she said.
“I think there’s a national expectation that everyone will have it but I think there will be another debate.”
