The flu vaccine helps protect against flu, which can be a serious or life-threatening illness. It’s offered on the NHS every year in autumn or early winter to people at higher risk of getting seriously ill from flu.

This advice is about the flu vaccine for adults. There are also pages about the children’s flu vaccine and flu jab in pregnancy.

Who should have the flu vaccine

The flu vaccine is recommended for people at higher risk of getting seriously ill from flu. It’s offered on the NHS every year in autumn or early winter.

You can get the free NHS flu vaccine if you:

• are aged 65 or over
• have certain long-term health conditions
• are pregnant
• live in a care home
• are the main carer for an older or disabled person, or receive a carer’s allowance
• live with someone who has a weakened immune system

Frontline health and social care workers can also get a flu vaccine through their employer.

Health conditions that mean you’re eligible for the flu vaccine

The flu vaccine is recommended for people with certain long-term health conditions, including:

• conditions that affect your breathing, such as asthma (needing a steroid inhaler or tablets), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cystic fibrosis
• heart conditions, such as coronary heart disease or heart failure
• chronic kidney disease
• liver disease, such as cirrhosis or hepatitis
• some conditions that affect your brain or nerves, such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy
• diabetes or Addison’s disease
• a weakened immune system due to a condition such as HIV or AIDS, or due to a treatment such as chemotherapy or steroid medicine
• problems with your spleen, such as sickle cell disease, or if you’ve had your spleen removed
• a learning disability
• being very overweight – a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above
• Speak to your GP surgery or specialist if you have a health condition and you’re not sure if you’re eligible for the flu vaccine.

When you should have the flu vaccine

Most eligible adults will be able to get the flu vaccine from Thursday October 3^rd. This may be later than you’ve had the vaccine before, but it means you’ll have the best protection when flu is most widespread.

Some people may have their vaccination from September, including if:

• you’re pregnant (especially if you’re near to your due date) – it’s important to get vaccinated before giving birth to help protect yourself and your baby for the first few months of their life
• you’re due to have treatment that will weaken your immune system (such as chemotherapy) – the vaccine may be given before treatment starts because it works better if given when your immune system is stronger

Speak to your GP for advice if you think you need to have the vaccine earlier than October.

How to get the flu vaccine

If you’re eligible, you may be able to get a flu vaccine from:

• a pharmacy that offers NHS flu vaccination
• your GP surgery
• your care home (if you live in a care home)
• your maternity service (if you’re pregnant)
• your employer (if you’re a frontline health or social care worker)

Frontline health or social care workers

Frontline health and social care workers will usually get the flu vaccine through their employer.

If you cannot get a flu vaccine through your employer, you can get it at a pharmacy or your GP surgery if you’re employed:

• by a registered residential care or nursing home
• by a registered domiciliary care provider
• by a voluntary managed hospice provider
• through direct payments or personal health budgets

Book online now

If you’re aged 18 or over, you can book a flu vaccination appointment at a pharmacy online or in the NHS App now.

You need to book your vaccination before December 20.

Having the flu vaccine at the same time as other vaccines

You can have the flu vaccine at the same time as other vaccines such as the COVID-19 and shingles vaccines.

It’s not usually given at the same time as the RSV vaccine, but you can have them at the same time if a doctor or nurse thinks it’s needed.

Who cannot have the flu vaccine

Most people who are eligible for the flu vaccine can have it.

You only cannot have the vaccine if you’ve had a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to a previous dose of the vaccine or an ingredient in the vaccine.

Some of the flu vaccines used in the UK contain egg protein. Tell the person vaccinating you if you have an egg allergy.

Getting vaccinated if you’re unwell

If you have a high temperature, wait until you’re feeling better before having your flu vaccine.

Flu vaccine ingredients

There are several types of flu vaccine given in the UK. If you’re eligible for the flu vaccine on the NHS, you’ll be offered one of the types that’s most appropriate for you.

You can check the ingredients in the patient leaflets here.

Side effects of the flu vaccine

The most common side effects of the flu vaccine are mild and get better within one to two days.

They can include:

• pain or soreness where the injection was given
• a slightly raised temperature
• an aching body

More serious side effects such as a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) are very rare. The person who vaccinates you will be trained to deal with allergic reactions and treat them immediately.

The injected flu vaccines used in the UK do not contain live flu viruses. They cannot give you flu.

More about vaccine safety

Find out more about why vaccinations are important and the safest way to protect yourself

How well the flu vaccine works and how long it lasts

The flu vaccine aims to protect you against the most common types of flu viruses.

There’s still a chance you might get flu after getting vaccinated, but it’s likely to be milder and not last as long. The vaccine usually takes up to 14 days to work.

Protection from the flu vaccine goes down with time and the types of flu virus the vaccine protects against are updated each year. This is why it’s important to get the flu vaccine every year.

Source: https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/

Healthy vision is something many of us take for granted – until there is a problem.

That’s why it’s important to check your eyesight regularly and, if there is a problem, be able to access the support you need.

However, many people are facing long waits and high costs for eye care.

Some groups of people, such as certain ethnic minority communities and those on lower incomes are also more likely to experience poor eye health and have poor experiences of eye care services.

As part of the #ShareForBetterCare campaign, we want to know about your experiences of eye care. We want to know:

• If you are getting your eyesight checked and if you face any barriers (like costs or availability of services and appointments)?
• If you have been for an eye test or had other eye care, what was your experience like?

Your views are vital to helping improve eye health and other NHS services in your area. It helps local NHS managers understand what is working and what they need to fix.

This National Eye Health Week (Sept 23 to 29) Healthwatch is asking people to complete a short online survey which aims to understand people’s experience of accessing eye care locally, as well as the experience of those waiting for secondary care. We also want to uncover what is working but also the barriers people face, like cost.

The survey, which can be accessed via the link below, closes this Sunday September 29:

https://bit.ly/eye-care-survey

Key facts:

• 2.7 million people are expected to live with sight loss by 2030.
• An estimated 50% of sight loss is avoidable[1].
• Over 600,000 people are waiting for specialist NHS eyecare[2].
• Almost half of adults with sight loss (49 per cent) live in a household with a total income of less than £300 a week[3]
•  Certain ethnic groups do have a greater risk of developing some of the leading causes of sight loss.
  • Black African and Caribbean people are four to eight times more at risk of developing certain forms of glaucoma.
  • The risk of diabetic eye disease is around three times greater in South Asian people.
  • Black African and Caribbean people are also at a higher risk of diabetic eye disease[4].

[1] https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/vision

[2] https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2024-25/

[3] https://media.rnib.org.uk/documents/Circumstances_sight_loss_report.pdf

[4] https://www.rnib.org.uk/professionals/health-social-care-education-professionals/knowledge-and-research-hub/key-information-and-statistics-on-sight-loss-in-the-uk/

Junior doctors have accepted the government’s pay offer by 66%, after the most prolonged industrial dispute in the NHS’s history.

Under the deal – which the Health Secretary agreed with BMA leadership within three weeks of coming into office – the government and junior doctors will work together to turn the health service around and resolve wider issues affecting the workforce, including training and rotational placements.

As Lord Ara Darzi set out in his probe into the NHS, this government inherited a broken NHS which is in a critical condition. This is a sentiment shared by doctors, and has been seriously compounded by the impact of strikes.

The deal comes days after the Prime Minister delivered a major speech on NHS reform, saying the government has a profound responsibility to do the hard work required to fix the NHS with long-term reform, and the NHS workforce will play an integral part in both designing and delivering the government’s 10-year health plan to deliver the necessary reform.

The price of not settling the pay dispute has seen catastrophic impacts not just on the country’s economy – with NHS strikes costing the taxpayer almost £1.7bn since April last year – but to patients and the nation’s health, with over 1.5m appointments cancelled. Ending this chaos is a necessary first step in turning around the NHS.

Doctors can now focus on treating their patients, and work with the government to recover and reform the NHS. The government has already taken action to remove red tape preventing general practices from hiring doctors – ensuring more than 1,000 newly qualified GPs can be recruited by the end of the year.

NHS patients will have earlier access to new treatments and the UK will become the home of cutting-edge health research after the launch of the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicine Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) Investment Programme last month – a joint public-private investment programme worth up to £400m.

The Darzi report has also been welcomed by NHS England and health organisations who have pledged to work closely with the government on its mission to rebuild the NHS.

The Health and Social Care Secretary made reaching a deal his top priority on coming into office, and first spoke with the BMA’s junior doctors committee on his first day, ahead of the offer being agreed within weeks.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: ”We inherited a broken NHS, the most devastating dispute in the health service’s history, and negotiations hadn’t taken place with the previous ministers since March.

“Things should never have been allowed to get this bad. That’s why I made ending the strikes a priority, and we negotiated an end to them in just three weeks.

“I am pleased that our offer has been accepted, ending the strikes ahead of looming winter pressures on the NHS.

“This marks the necessary first step in our mission to cut waiting lists, reform the broken health service, and make it fit for the future.”

The cumulative impact of the uplifts mean a doctor starting foundation training in the NHS will see their basic pay increase to £36,600, compared to around £32,400 before the deal.

Recognising how disruptive the system of rotations can be for junior doctors, their partners and families, the department will lead a review of the current system, with the intention of reforming the number and frequency of rotations.

We will also be working with NHS England on a review of training numbers, both to address the training bottlenecks which already exist and the planned expansion of medical school places, to ensure patients have access to the junior doctors they need today, and the consultants and GPs they will need in the future.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/junior-doctors-accept-government-pay-deal

Response from the British Medical Association (BMA)

Junior doctors in England vote to accept pay offer

The BMA’s junior doctors committee (JDC) in England has accepted the Government’s pay offer, with 66% of junior doctors voting in favour of the deal.

Junior doctors have been in dispute over more than a decade of real-terms pay cuts since October 2022, during which time they have taken 44 days of strike action.

The pay uplift across these two years of the dispute will be 22.3% on average. This is made up of an additional average 4.05% for the pay year 2023/24 on top of the previously awarded average 8.8%, taking last year’s pay uplift to an average of 13.2% – this will be backdated to April 2023.

The rest of the uplift comes from the recommended pay award for 2024/25 announced in July, which gave junior doctors an average 8% increase across grades. Doctors remain 20.8% behind in real terms compared to a doctor in 2008.

The Government has also committed to work with the BMA to streamline the way in which junior doctors report additional hours they work, to ensure they are paid for the work they do.

There is also agreement to reform the current system of rotational training for junior doctors as well as reviewing the training bottlenecks that previous Governments have imposed, which has manufactured the shortage of consultant and GP doctors.

The junior doctors committee co-chairs, Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, said: “It should never have taken so long to get here, but we have shown what can be accomplished with our determination and with a government willing to simply sit down and talk realistically about a path to pay restoration. One strike was one strike too many.

“This deal marks the end of 15 years of pay erosion with the beginning of two years of modest above inflation pay rises. There is still a long way to go, with doctors remaining 20.8% in real terms behind where we were in 2008.

“Mr Streeting has acknowledged our pay has fallen behind and has talked about a journey to pay restoration. He believes the independent pay review body is the right vehicle for this, and if he is right then no doctor need strike over pay in future. However, in the event the pay review body disappoints, he needs to be prepared for the consequences.

“The resident doctors committee, as we will be called, will be using the next months to prepare to build on their success so that future cohorts of doctors never again need to see the kind of pay cuts we have. We thank all doctors who have seen us through to this point by standing on picket lines and fighting for their worth. The campaign is not over, but we, and they, can be proud of how far we have come.”

Outside the pay negotiations, the Government has agreed that from 18^th September “junior doctors” across the UK will be known as “resident doctors” to better reflect their expertise. This follows a motion to the BMA’s annual policy making conference in 2023 when doctors voted in favour of a name change.

45,830 junior doctors in England took part in an online referendum between 19 August and 15 September, a turnout of 69%. 30,227 (66%) voted in favour of the offer. 15,596 (34%) voted against.

Details of the offer are available here.

The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.

Source: https://www.bma.org.uk/bma-media-centre/junior-doctors-in-england-vote-to-accept-pay-offer

The LGBT+ North East Service is available to young people who live in South Tyneside, Sunderland and County Durham.

Support can include:

• one-to-one sessions with a member of their experienced team
• sexual health guidance
• support to access clinical gender identity services
• the opportunity to meet other LGBT+ young people in your area
• family support
• hate crime reporting
• fun activities and sessions such as sailing, meals, climbing in a safe space (the group decides every three months which activity).

Young people must agree to being referred, but when a young person is under 18, it is helpful when they agree for their parent/guardian to be involved. However, the LGBT+ North East Service team understand this is not always possible.

In these situations, they can work with young people aged 16+ without their parent/guardian being involved and with those aged under 16 without their parent/guardian being involved when they are Gillick competent. This means practitioners have decided that a child is mature enough to make decisions about things that affect them.

More information about the service can be found at humankindcharity.org.uk/service/lgbt-north-east or on their Facebook page. There is also a short film here featuring service users:

• If you think you – or someone you know – could benefit from the LGBT+ North East Service, they can be contacted by email at lgbt@humankindcharity.org.uk or by calling 01325 731160.

While people think about the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) as ambulances responding to 999 calls, nearly two-thirds of their work is answering calls to NHS111.

From life-threatening emergencies to general health advice, NEAS plays a key role in the North East healthcare system.

Healthwatch is working with the North East Ambulance Service to understand people’s experiences and expectations of the broad range of NEAS’s services, including:

• Ambulances and paramedics
• Patient transport
• 999 call handling
• NHS111

Whether it was sending an ambulance for transport to the hospital, referral to other places for treatment, or treatment at home, we would like to hear your views and feedback in this quick, anonymous survey.

By managing both urgent and non-urgent care, NEAS are at the heart of the health and care system in our region. Your views on how they deliver their services and how they support those who contact them will help shape future planning and delivery.

“Our patients, the people who support them, and people who may need to use our services in the future are incredibly important to us, and we would like them to be at the heart of the way in which we plan our future as an organisation.” (NEAS)

We are interested in your views, whether you have contacted NEAS recently or not. And as a thank you for your time and contribution, at the end of the survey you will have the opportunity to take part in our prize draw to win £100 of Love2Shop vouchers.

If you would be interested in giving more detailed feedback, require a paper copy, or would prefer to talk to someone rather than fill in a survey, please contact us by email at info@hwnt.co.uk or call 0191 263 5321.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned the NHS could “go bust” if the government does not reform it to account for an ageing society, more sick people and rising costs.

Healthwatch England’s Head of Policy William Pett said: “People will welcome Lord Darzi’s prognosis on the NHS. Although the NHS does much good, patients repeatedly share their frustrations and confusion about accessing care. 

“GP access is difficult, NHS dentistry is in disarray, and people face excessive waiting times for hospital treatment. These challenges are not experienced equally, with poorer communities hit hardest. Restoring public confidence in the NHS and delivering timely, safe and quality care must focus on the issues that matter most to people now and in the future.

“We’re calling for improvements to patient communications and administration, giving people a choice of how to access care, a better listening culture within the NHS, and for services to be measured against the quality of patient experiences, not just the length of time they wait for care.

“The public will welcome the chance to help shape the future of healthcare and reset the contract between them and the NHS. Especially if it results in clearer rights, more responsive services and an equal say in their care.” 

Sources:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w6g0gzw40o

https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/response/2024-09-11/darzi-review-time-reset-contract-between-patients-and-nhs