The NHS team currently working to protect tens of thousands of North East schoolchildren against flu has won a national award for its inclusive approach.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s school-aged immunisation service (SAIS) provides vaccinations to children and young people across Northumberland, North Tyneside, Newcastle and Gateshead.
The team won the ‘communicating effectively with patients and families’ category at the Patient Experience Network National Awards 2024 (PENNA24) for its work to involve communities in how it delivers services.
They have taken an approach of co-designing the programmes they deliver with the communities they work in, in a bid to meet the needs of the families they look after and reduce health inequalities in the process.
Listening to feedback from families means the team started to provide evening and weekend sessions. During the flu vaccination programme last autumn, this included a hub at the Metrocentre and partnering with Active Northumberland to use leisure centres in the county.
When the service was commissioned to cover Gateshead as well, the team linked up with the Jewish Community Council of Gateshead to ensure it caters its offer for this community. This resulted in a rabbi providing cultural awareness training to all staff about dress code, use of technology, restricted days and specific concerns around the HPV vaccine.
Read the full article about the award here…
Read more about the team’s work on page 79 of the PENNA24 Book of Best Practice…
Take a look at the team’s presentation at PENNA24:
