News

As most of you are already aware, this year, three types of flu vaccine will be used in the adult flu programme. This will benefit patients by ensuring that they have the most suitable vaccine that gives them the best protection against flu. To assist registered practitioners in selecting the appropriate vaccine, a vaccine eligibility calculator has been developed by NES to aid staff during service delivery.

The calculator can be accessed directly via the following NES weblink:

https://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-theme-initiative/public-health/health-protection/seasonal-flu/vaccine-eligibility-calculator.aspx

Please note that this is also a sub page of the main seasonal flu web page:

https://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-theme-initiative/public-health/health-protection/seasonal-flu.aspx and a link from this page has been established to the calculator web page.

A new poster has also been developed by NES to aid selection of the correct vaccine. Images of the vaccines are presented alongside the recommended age-groups for ease of identification. These posters will be made available soon to all GP practices along with other routine resources provided annually. This poster can also be viewed via the seasonal flu web page (link above).

link - https://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-theme-initiative/public-health/health-protection/immunisation/shingles.aspx

Please be aware that the  NES/HPS seasonal flu workforce education resources have now been published and can be accessed via the link below. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to these resources.https://nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-theme-initiative/public-health/health-protection/seasonal-flu.aspx

New Destination for Immunisation Information in Scotland

From June 28^th 2018, there will be new online location for information about immunisation and vaccines in Scotland – www.nhsinform.scot/immunisation

ACTION FOR BOARDS: From June 28^th, please start to update existing links to the old website (immunisationscotland.org.uk) and promote the new location for immunisation content to your local stakeholders.

Key Messages:

·    On the 28th June 2018 the Immunisation Scotland (immunisationscotland.org.uk) website will close and NHS Scotland Immunisation web content will be live on NHSinform (nhsinform.scot/immunisation). 

·     Re-directs from the Immunisation Scotland will be in place when the new pages are live – these will send users from the old website to the new destination of the content.

·     Leaflets which signpost the old website will be updated as they come up for reprint – forthcoming Flu, Shingles leaflets and the new 0-5 leaflet will have the new URL.

·       NHS inform is Scotland's national health information service, it aims to be the single source of health information online for the public in Scotland.  The website helps the people in Scotland to make informed decisions about their own health and the health of people they care for.

Features & Benefits of the NHSinform.scot website:

·    nhsinform.scot -  was redesigned in November 2016 and is now accessible across all mobile devices.  The improved accessibility, navigation and user- experience has contributed to a significant increase in users, with over 1.7 million individual users visiting in May 2018.

·     Links can be built within the NHSinform immunisation content to other areas of the website – such as illnesses and conditions, e.g Meningitis, Shingles, Flu

·     NHS Inform webchat has a ‘webchat’ function where the public can ask questions about all health topics including vaccines

We hope you like the new home of immunisation content online.

Please direct any questions/comments to jessica.munshaw@nhs.net