Boots the chemist doing free flu jabs

Doctors do not get "free NHS" money to keep their surgeries open and running and to pay staff, buy equipment etc. They have to earn it. One of the ways they do this is by being paid to give flu jabs, shingles, child immunisations etc.

www.pulsetoday.co.uk/clinical/immunisation/practice-challenges-nhs-chief-over-4m-wasted-flu-vaccine/20030344.article

I thought this would happen.

By the way, I've just read in the i yesterday, that statins may suppress your immune system and stop the flu vaccine from working.

After our queue experience on Saturday (previous post) I rang the surgery to be told that they have an open clinic every day between 12 and 1pm!! So why the queues on Saturday? We turned up,a Dr "jabbed" us both and we were out in 5mins.They didn't have the shingles vaccine in and I go back next week for that.

Had my flu jab on Monday administered by Practise Nurse at GP surgery. I made a mistake with the appointment time and arrived 30 minutes late but no problem. I waited about 5 minutes and had the jab. I asked about shingles jab as I have had shingles several times, (a really bad attack in May this year). Although I am not yet 70 the nurse gave me one at her discretion due to my history.
overthehill - no problems with either jab except some slight tenderness. Your poor DH must just have been unlucky!

whitewave

Ours is due on 31st October -nothing available until then, but we are sticking with it as DH is to have shingles jab as well
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Word of warning. My DH had the flu and shingles jab together last year. Within a short while he developed about 80 raised spots all over his body. The doc dismissed this as anything to do with the jab or because he had the two together. Months went by and they didn't go. Lots of different cream was prescribed did nothing. After lots of trolling the web I decided to try probiotics and this eventually cleared them up.Even now still light marks remain on his legs nearly a year later.

I went to enquire about a flu jab at my local Boots. The assistant told me you had to be over 60 ( which I am) but when I went for the jab I was told you have have to be over 65 and so I had to pay. I was a bit annoyed, but having the most awful flu last Winter and being out of action from Christmas Day until March I decided to go ahead.

The free jabs at Boots are useful, but you still have to meet the same criteria as those for one at your surgery:
^Are aged 65 and over (or will turn 65 by 31 March 2016)
Are pregnant
Have a certain medical condition such as diabetes or heart disease
Care for someone whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill^ according to the Boots website.
So for me, having caught flu and ended up with pneumonia twice in the past two years, my GP refuses and I'm not eligible elsewhere [cross]
I know I could pay but....

please, give me the address, I'd love a free jag, LOL.

www.pulsetoday.co.uk/pharmacists-could-be-paid-more-for-flu-jabs-than-gp-practices-gpc-warns-/20010582.article

My DH had them at the same time last year, one in each arm. No problems, tiny itchy blisters on the site of the shingles but we had been told this could happen.

My GP is offering a shingles jab at the same time as the flu jab.
Would that be a good idea? I've never had shingles thank heavens.

DH and I had ours on 21st September. Practice nurse did them and we were in and out in 2 minutes. DH also had his shingles injection the week before, he decided it might be sensible to not have the two together.

My surgery usually rings me and arranges an appointment at a time convenient for me. Mine is on Monday. A nurse administers it and it only takes a few minutes altogether. Am I just lucky with my GP?

Was at the GP last week about my knee and asked about the jag. She gave it to me there and then 'to save the weekend scrum'. Kind lady

Here the jabs are done on two autumn Saturdays - a fortnight and a week ago respectively. There's a team of practice nurses and a health care assisant who give the jabs and keep records, working in pairs. They use three or four of the consulting rooms so that the queue reduces quickly. The queue on the first Saturday is huge, less so on the second which was when I walked straight in and out again in a couple of minutes. It's all very efficient. Do the pharmacies which give the jab pass the records to patients' GPs so that they know who's had it andwho hasn't?

I'm sure a lot of GPs would rather hand over responsibility for yearly jabs to an outside source - one less thing for them and/r their staff to have to deal with.

GPs don't usually give the jabs in our surgery, it's the nurse.

Of course they are paid for. I said I wondered how much.
How does it compare with the NHS GPs being paid?

'GP' btw

Our surgery is, not are

Great news! Our surgery are doing them next Saturday morning on a 'turn up and queue' basis and DH plays golf on Saturday mornings. He'll be able to go to Boots or Lloyds instead

I'm booked in at Boots for my jab next Tuesday as I don't want to go to our Doctors first thing in the morning. It's still a freebie.

Well I would think they would be paid for it. I would think it's another way of easing the burden of TP practices. What's wrong with that?

I went this lunchtime, staggered appointments but there's usually a long fast moving queue. This time there was no one there and I was in and out in about a minute. Apparently hardly anyone had turned up!

I wonder how much Boots and other chemists are paid by the NHS to do these "free" flu vaccinations.
Had to go for a blood test last week and was given one as well, despite all the leaflets all over about making an appointment.