HEALTH bosses have praised hospital staff after more than three-quarters had their winter flu jab.

This is a marked improvement on last year, when just 52 per cent of the workforce at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust had received the jab by the end of January.

The trust’s Flu Fighter campaign carried extra importance this year, as the government said some additional NHS funding would only be made available to trusts where three-quarters of staff had been vaccinated.

The campaign featured more than 50 members of staff pictured on posters stating why they had chosen to become Flu Fighters and why they would encourage fellow colleagues to do the same and get the flu jab.

The trust said 76 per cent of staff had been vaccinated by the end of January.

Lee Barnes, head of occupational health and wellbeing, said: “The rise in the uptake of the flu vaccination is evidence that staff want to protect their patients and remain healthy to provide effective care for patients at a time when demands on the NHS are at their highest.

“It has been a tough year for staff, with many difficult challenges, yet their commitment to patients is higher than ever with the trust experiencing its highest ever uptake rate of the staff flu vaccination.”