Will the Cabinet Secretary confirm a) what the Welsh Government is doing to protect the workforce in frontline clinical settings from this year's flu outbreak, and b) whether staff in GP surgeries and pharmacies are eligible for an NHS flu vaccine?
The wellbeing and safety of NHS staff underpins everything we do to support a resilient and compassionate health service. We have been working closely with NHS organisations to safeguard colleagues during this flu season.
As in previous years, flu vaccination is offered to all NHS staff involved in direct patient care. This includes independent primary care providers, including GP practices, dental practices, optometry practices and community pharmacies.
The Chief Medical Officer has written to NHS organisations about the importance of robust infection prevention and control measures in health and care settings. This includes the use of clinical pathways to cohort and/or isolate patients and regular consideration about whether universal mask wearing in health and care settings should be recommended.