ALMOST 100 members of staff at Poole Hospital are having the flu jab every day in a bid to help avoid the NHS's winter crisis.

After just four weeks, 50 per cent of Poole's staff have been vaccinated with the quadrivalent vaccine, which offers protection against four flu variants. It means the hospital is already on course to beat its 84 per cent immunisation rate from last year.

The reasons NHS staff need the vaccine is simple - frontline healthcare workers are more likely to be exposed to the virus, and up to one in four may become infected even during a mild flu season – far more than the general population.

Danny Lockyer, Poole's matron for neonatal services, said: “If several members of my team were unable to come to work due to flu, it would severely affect the service we provide in the unit. Therefore I make sure I always have my jab and actively encourage everyone in my team to be vaccinated every year.

He said the department had never had a flu outbreak but: "The vaccination is part of our duty of care to patients and it's our responsibility to have as high an uptake as possible.”

Over in Bournemouth, the hospital trust is targeting staff members who, for whatever reason, don't get the flu jab each year.

It's running a campaign to bust myths and rumours about the vaccination, called: ‘Now you’ve got the facts, it’s time to get the jab’.

A spokesman said: "We’re using a number of experts from across the Trust to squash the rumours and give the facts."

The rumours included in the campaign are that the jab isn't effective against all flu strains - the truth being that it it offers protection against four variants; that it isn't necessary because having flu is like a cold when, in reality, the illnesses are caused by two different viruses with flu being far more severe, and that having the flu vaccine can give you flu.

A spokesman said: "This is impossible because the vaccine doesn’t contain the live virus.

You may find your arm feels a bit sore and some people get a slight temperature but these side effects typically last for one or two days and are much less severe than the flu."

Another strong flu vaccine myth - and one believed by many in the general population - is that by not having it, people are somehow 'saving' the NHS money.

Both Bournemouth and Poole hospitals point out that the cost of one flu vaccine for NHS staff is £3.71 - far less than an emergency department admission.

Trish Turton, infection prevention and control specialist nurse at the Royal Bournemouth said: "During the last flu season which peaked between the months of December 2017 to April 2018, there were 216 cases of flu reported in the hospital. The best way to avoid catching and spreading flu is by having the vaccination before the flu season starts."

One of the hospital's consultants in emergency medicine, Imran Ghafoor, said: "Flu can be very severe and, if complications occur, you can become seriously ill. That’s why those who are vulnerable – including the elderly, people with suppressed immune systems, and pregnant women – are offered the flu jab. We see cases of flu coming through our Emergency Department and in many cases they could have been prevented with a simple flu jab."