Residents across Forth Valley are being urged to take up their winter flu jag to ease pressures on the local health board.
Clackmannanshire & Dunblane MSP Keith Brown is encouraging all those eligible for the jab to make sure they get theirs to protect against serious illness.
It comes just a week after we told how NHS Forth Valley bosses confirmed that the levels of in-patients being treated meant that one-in-six core patient beds was being occupied by patients with respiratory illnesses.
The health board said that it was treating 83 patients for flu, Covid and respiratory viruses at its in-patient wards at Forth Valley Royal Hospital – which it says is a sharp rise on the prior weeks.
To curb the spread of respiratory illness on hospital grounds, NHS Forth Valley urged visitors to wear face coverings and asked anyone displaying symptoms of respiratory illness to stay away.
With 58.4-per cent of eligible adults in NHS Forth Valley already vaccinated, Mr Brown is urging constituents to book their appointment before the March 31 deadline to stay protected this winter.
He said: “Getting vaccinated gives you the best possible protection against flu viruses circulating this winter. The flu vaccine offers strong protection, while the Covid-19 booster reduces the severity of illness and boosts protection.
“It’s great to see that NHS Forth Valley has a higher uptake than the national average, with 58.4 per cent of eligible adults already vaccinated. However, there is still a significant number of people who are eligible but haven’t yet come forward for their boosters.
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“The vaccines will reduce your risk of needing to go to hospital with serious illness and help to protect those around you from catching flu and becoming ill.
“It is hugely encouraging that Scotland had the highest uptake of vaccines in the UK last winter, and I urge everyone in Clackmannanshire & Dunblane who hasn’t already done so this winter to check if they are eligible and book an appointment.
“Getting vaccinated is not only the best way to protect yourself and your family from serious illness this winter, but it will also help to reduce the pressure on the NHS during this busy period.”
NHS Forth Valley Director of Acute Services, Garry Fraser, last week said: “Ensuring these patients remain isolated is challenging and affects the wider capacity within the hospital.
“The increase in respiratory viruses, especially flu cases, is also placing additional strain on local services at an already busy time of year and we are continuing to monitor the situation closely.
“Vaccines are the first line of defence and the number of people currently in hospitals across Scotland with flu shows that it can be a very serious illness, particularly among vulnerable groups such as the elderly, pregnant women, young children and those with underlying health conditions, so please get vaccinated if you are eligible as it’s not too late.
“You can also help protect others and reduce the spread by not attending any hospital to visit friends or family if you are feeling ill or have any cold or flu-like symptoms, no matter how mild.
“If you do require to visit, please wear a mask provided at the entrance areas of the wards. We’d also encourage employers to play their part in helping to reduce the spread by encouraging workers to work from home, if possible.”
If you have a minor injury or you need urgent health advice or treatment when your GP, pharmacy or dental practice is closed, call NHS 24 first on 111.
The NHS Inform website also has symptom checkers and you CAN also phone the NHS Inform helpline on 0800 22 44 88 for advice.
Further health information and advice, including details of local vaccination clinics, can be found on the Winter Zone of the NHS Forth Valley website. You can also call the national vaccination helpline on 0800 030 8013 to make an appointment.