Q & A

Interview with Mr Chris Owens, Head of Communications, NHS,
Wales

I understand there is shortage of flu vaccine this year?  

No, that is not true. There is no shortage of flu vaccine at all. We did our normal deliveries and this year’s “keep warm, keep well” campaign, which will end soon, is running smoothly.

How come there was a shortage of the vaccine in the clinics most of October and even November?

That is news to me. I am not aware of that. We have not had any complaints here and like I told you, the programme has not had any hitch so far.

The programme is supposed to end this December. How many people have been vaccinated so far?

While it is true that the programme ends officially in December, it is not for us per se to choose a precise date. It is left for the GPs to decide that. There is nothing in the books that says nobody should have his or her flu jab in January. Again, I can’t say precisely how many people have been vaccinated so far because we don’t have the records yet. Of course, you know the programme is still ongoing.

But would you say the programme this year is a success?

Again, it is premature to say it is or that it is not until we get the statistics. But there is nothing so far to suggest that it will be anything less than a success.

What is the vaccine all about and who should be in need of it?

A flu jab’s main purpose is to protect those who are most at risk of developing complications that can result from flu. Those aged 65 or above, should have the vaccination. Again, it is advisable for those with a serious heart problem, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, long-term kidney or liver disease and even diabetes to have a flu jab. It is also essential for people with weakened immune system and those undergoing certain treatment such as chemotherapy.

Thank you very much for your time.

NHS forestalls flu jab crisis

                For the aged and infirm in
Cardiff, a chilling winter is averted

Mr Gerald Duncan, 67, sat dejectedly in the lobby of The City Surgery on

City Road, Cardiff

, wearing a forlorn look. That was in the afternoon of Thursday, November 23, 2006. He had just missed his flu jab by minutes. “This is the second time I am missing this vaccination and it is very frustrating. I have been coming here since October without any luck,”
Duncan lamented.

 

His experience was not peculiar. Most clinics in
Cardiff had no supply of the flu vaccine in October and some had notices informing patients in need of the vaccination to come back mid-November. When the supplies finally came, they were inadequate, thereby precipitating a rush.  On the day
Duncan missed the vaccination, The City Surgery had a supply of 50 vaccines in the morning, which were used within an hour.

 

In preparation for the winter season, the National Health Service (NHS) flagged off a “keep warm, keep well,” campaign in October, with flu vaccination as an essential element. But the campaign ran into a hitch almost immediately, with a shortage of the vaccine, and for the aged and infirm, the most vulnerable to the influenza, a chilling winter loomed.

 

Pulse magazine, a medical journal, claimed in its November edition that about 15.2 million vaccines should have been in place in October but only nine million had been delivered by the end of that month. Fears of a looming epidemic were exacerbated by the fact that it takes about two weeks after vaccination for the antibodies that provide protection against influenza virus infection to develop in the body.

 

But the looming health crisis seems to have been averted. A visit to some clinics in
Cardiff this week confirmed that most of them now have adequate supply of the vaccine. Hospital sources confirmed that supplies increased exponentially last week of November as a result of complaints to the NHS.

 

However, Mr Chris Owens, spokesperson of the NHS in
Wales debunked the story of flu vaccine shortage. Speaking in a telephone interview, Owens said: “The story that there was shortage of the vaccine in October and November is not true. We had our normal deliveries and I can confirm to you that this year’s ‘keep warm, keep well’ campaign is running smoothly.” But he could neither confirm how many vaccines have so far been supplied, the exact month they were supplied nor the number of people that have so far been vaccinated. “I don’t have the records yet, so I cannot confirm the figures,” he said.

 

Flu is a viral infection that strikes mainly during the winter months. According to Dr Pius Ekemiri, a Nigerian GP resident in
London, the early signs are headache, sore throat, runny nose, aching muscles, fever and shivering. “Flu makes you feel completely exhausted and the extreme fatigue may last for two or three weeks. It can affect people of all ages and the best time to have a flu jab is in the autumn, between late September and early November.”

                                                                                            (500 words)

 

Links

http://www.thecitysurgery.co.uk

http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk

http://www.immunisation.nhs.uk

http://www.ombudsman-wales.org.uk

http://www.patienthelp.wales.nhs.uk

Click here for the full interview

History of NHS

Set up on July 5, 1948

1948 to 1957 – Period of teething problems and building of community health centres.

1958 to 1967 – A period when the polio vaccine came in, dialysis for chronic renal failure and chemotherapy for certain cancers were developed.

1968 to 1977 – This was the decade of the GP’s charter which was encouraging the formation of primary health care teams, new group practice premises and a rapid increase in the number of health centres.

1988 to 1997 – The NHS experienced the most significant cultural shift since its inception with the introduction of the so-called internal market, outlined in the 1989 White Paper, Working for Patients, and which passed into law as the NHS and Community Act 1990.

1998 to the present – For the NHS, golden jubilee rightly meant a celebration, a national recognition of 50 years of healthcare for all, regardless of ability to pay.