Injections fight infections

Residents are being urged to take up offers of immunisation against flu and a virus that can cause cervical cancer

Gwen Ockelton and her husband Colin

Let's face it, hardly anyone enjoys the sight of a needle, but a few moments of discomfort can bring lasting benefits to your health.
Hull resident Gwen Ockelton agrees.
Gwen was advised by her GP to have the flu jab but decided not to go ahead with it.
She later regretted the decision after she became ill with the flu, which left her unable to get out of bed for more than a week.
That was about four years ago.
Initially, she thought she was coming down with a cold but her condition worsened.
Her symptoms included aches and pains in her head and back, feeling sick, lethargic, and sweating profusely.
"I had to be cared for by my husband Colin, and although he did a great job, it was a nightmare being as ill as that and I never want to go through it again," says Gwen.
Gwen said flu also worsened the symptoms of her angina, causing sharp pains in her chest.
Now, having learned from the experience, she visits Longhill Health Care Centre once a year to have the flu jab to protect her against the virus before it spreads through Hull in the winter months.
And she says other Hull residents, who have been advised by their GPs to have the vaccination, should heed the advice and have the injection.
"I know there are many people who don't like needles - and I'm one of them - but a quick injection in your arm by a nurse can prevent you from catching flu and feeling dreadful, so I say get the jab."

Highly effective

This month, Hull residents who are eligible for the free vaccine will receive a letter through the post from their GP, advising them how to make an appointment to have the jab.
To be eligible for the flu jab you must:

• be aged 65 or over OR
• be under 65 and have a chronic or long-term health condition such as diabetes, bronchitis, asthma, or heart, lung or kidney disease OR
• be under 65 and living in a residential care home.

Carers of people in these categories are also eligible for the free jab.
Flu is highly infectious - in a single sneeze more than 100,000 flu particles are projected into the air.
Every year one in five Hull residents catches flu.
The injection usually takes 10 to 14 days to work, and is highly effective against the flu virus as it begins to spread in winter.
There are few side effects apart from possibly a sore arm and feeling slightly unwell for a day or two.
"People should have the injection every 12 months because each time a different formula is developed and given to protect against whichever strain of the virus is most likely to spread in Hull," said Dr Khin Myint, immunisation co-ordinator for the Humber Health Protection Unit.
"Healthy people can usually shake off infection but for those who are vulnerable and in poor health it can tilt the balance and prove fatal."
The strain placed on the body by flu due to symptoms such as raised temperature and dehydration, can, for example, push someone with a heart condition towards heart failure.
More than 70 per cent of the 95,000 older people in Hull and East Yorkshire are vaccinated every year - but that still leaves almost 30 per cent who are urged to come forward for the jab.
"The injection is the best protection against the flu," he added.
"It saves lives and stops people from acquiring miserable and prolonged flu during the winter.
I strongly recommend people have the injection."

Reducing the risk

Meanwhile, up to 1,400 Hull schoolgirls aged 12 to 13 are to be offered immunisation against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) as part of a new national vaccination programme.
There are about 100 types of HPV and almost all cervical cancers are caused by the HPV infection.
The immunisations, which will be carried out mainly by school nurses across the city, will be offered to Year 8 girls starting this month.
A three-year catch-up programme will also start this month for girls up to the age of 18.
While immunisation against HPV does not eliminate the risk completely, it can greatly reduce a woman's chances of catching the HPV infection and later developing cervical cancer.
"We hope parents in Hull are supportive of the vaccination programme and encourage their children to take up this new form of protection," says Kathleen Young, nurse consultant in public health for Hull Teaching Primary Care Trust.
Those who receive the vaccination should still attend regular cervical smear tests once they reach the age of 25.

info

For more information on immunisations visit www.immunisation.nhs.uk

Longer GP opening hours

Do you find it difficult to attend a doctor's appointment during the working day?
If so, you may be interested to know that some of Hull's GP surgeries now provide appointments outside of normal hours such as early mornings, evenings and Saturday mornings.
So if work or other commitments are getting in the way of you seeing a doctor, why not ask if appointments are available at other times?
Not all GP surgeries will decide to offer this service.
If your practice does not offer this option and you would like to be able to see a GP outside normal hours you can register with a practice that does if you live within the practice boundary and it is taking on new patients.
Other GP practices may decide to offer extended hours in the future.
If your practice is not listed on the right, check with the practice or use the contact details below.

The following GP practices have signed up to provide extended opening:   Dr Abraham   Dr AK Datta   Dr Ali and Partners   Dr AW Hussain   Dr Blow and Partners   The Calvert Practice   Clifton House Medical Centre   Dr GM Chowdhury   Kingston Medical Centre   Dr Koul   Dr MacPhie and Koul   Dr Musil and Queenan   Newland Health Centre   Orchard 2000 Medical Centre   Dr Palooran and George   Dr Poulose   Dr Ray   Riverside Medical Centre   Southcoates Medical Centre   Springhead Medical Centre   Sydenham House   Dr Tak and Partners   Wheeler Street Health Care   Dr Witvliet

info

For more information on practices that are providing extended opening hours, and accepting new patients, visit www.nhs.uk, or call the Patient Advisory Liaison Service (PALS) on 335409.

Working in partnership
Hull Teaching Primary Care Trust tel. (01482) 344700