THE NHS is urging all frontline healthcare workers to have a flu jab this winter to protect high-risk patients.

Figures from Public Health England have revealed the uptake in the Bradford district between September 2017 and February this year – a period which included the worst flu season in a decade.

At Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, 1,423 of the 1,910 frontline staff – 75 per cent – had the jab.

Meanwhile, of the 2,248 doctors, nurses, clinical staff and support workers at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, 1,865 received the vaccine – an uptake rate of 83 per cent.

The England average is 69 per cent and in a letter to trusts earlier this month, the NHS praised those which surpassed 90 per cent coverage last year.

On a national level,vaccine uptake varied considerably between trusts. At one, 92 per cent of frontline workers were vaccinated and in another, just 39 per cent.

Jill Asbury, director of nursing at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said the trust was hoping to beat 75 per cent this time.

She added: “Over the summer, a group of staff from across the hospital have been trained to administer vaccinations. That means they will be able to give their colleagues vaccinations at different times of day and night.”

Philippa Hubbard, deputy director of adult physical health and children’s services at the Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, said all staff were encouraged to have the flu vaccination.

The NHS said making vaccination “near universal” was to protect patients in higher-risk clinical environments, such as neonatal intensive care and cancer wards, and limit their exposure to unvaccinated staff.