A campaign to vaccinate carers against flu to protect their patients has won the pharmacy team at Cray Hill Chemist in Kent the NHS “flu fighter” carers award.

The Orpington based pharmacy “successfully targeted carers” by designing specific leaflets to inform people of their eligibility for a flu vaccine.

Staff at the pharmacy were encouraged to engage customers in conversation to identify carers, and said they were surprised to find that many carers were not aware that they were eligible for the vaccine through the NHS.

On the back of the campaign the pharmacy saw a rise from 60 vaccinations in 2015/15 to 600 vaccinations given in 2015/16.

The NHS’ flu fighter programme encourages NHS staff to voluntarily get themselves vaccinated to protect their patients as well as their families at home. The programme also extends to carers with the awards rewarding the best awareness campaigns.

“These teams have done fantastic work to help make the NHS an even safer place for staff and patients,” said Danny Mortimer, chief executive, NHS Employers.