Early success for new Barnsley children and young people’s vaccination team

A newly formed team has got off to a flying start with more than 60% of pupils in Barnsley taking part in a winter flu programme.

The vaccination team formed last year and was completed with its most recent member joining in October ahead of the seasonal campaign. They are responsible for vaccinating children and young people aged between 5 and 19 across the borough.

Working closely with Trust’s child health records department, the team have already achieved fantastic results delivering the childhood flu programme for children in school years 1, 2 and 3 vaccinating 5,707 children. They are currently delivering the Men ACWY programme to Year 11s.

The national immunisation programme supports the delivery of improvements in outcomes for children as part of the Public Health Outcomes Framework. It supports the delivery of the 5 to 19 years Healthy Child Programme and the team has been working hard to build excellent relationships with the 0-19 children’s community service (health visiting and school nursing), schools and GPs.   The service is committed to targeting the most vulnerable children and young people and is constantly exploring new ways to promote uptake. The team has already received recognition from commissioners for its proactive and enthusiastic approach.

Barnsley specialist children’s facebook page has proved invaluable for the promotion of vaccinations and catch up sessions. Please take a look.

The team are committed to promoting the benefits of vaccination and have begun the process of registering as a spoke placement for nursing students. This is sure to provide an excellent learning experience with a professional and inspiring team.