Primary Care Discharge Co-ordinator Chris England has been with CHFT for 26 years. His opinion of having the flu vaccine changed dramatically this year when he realised that having the flu can affect more than your physical heath. His experience shows the impact it can have on mental health too.
“I’d never taken up the offer of having the vaccine. To be honest I never really thought I needed it. After all – I’ve been healthy for 50 plus years and I thought I had built up a natural immunity.
“In January this year I started with what I thought was a cold. I saw a couple of GPs as it just wasn’t shifting. The second GP told me I had the flu.
“I was shocked because I thought having the flu meant you couldn’t get up out of bed, but he told me there was a spectrum of strains and symptoms which affected the severity.
“Very soon after I started with severe anxiety attacks and I just didn’t know why. I’d had them in the past but there had always been a reason or trigger. My heart was constantly racing and I was on edge the whole time – I guess you’d call it “wired”.
“So I took another visit to see the GP who told me it was a possible side effect of having the flu. I was surprised, though in a way it gave me reassurance. He prescribed me some medicines but before they had a chance to kick-in my heart was racing so severely that I was kept in A&E for observation.
“I realised the flu was indirectly responsible for the way I was feeling. And that if I’d had my vaccination I wouldn’t have caught flu and may not have had the anxiety attacks.
“It was a revelation to me that a physical illness could stray into mental health problems”.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing – but I’m a convert to the flu vaccination now”.
Thank you for sharing your story with colleagues Chris.
Information
Our flu pages have lots of information such as the drop-in dates, the names of our immunisers and a form to complete if you've had your vaccination at a GP or community chemist.
We've also pulled together a few more snaps from weeks two and three in case you've missed the screensavers, Twitter or Facebook. You can see them here. They include a selection from a community road trip yesterday (26 October).
If you have any questions about the flu campaign please email Flu.CHFT@cht.nhs.uk
Week two prize draw winner. Last week Phlebotomist Deb Thompson based at CRH won the £50 of high street vouchers. Deb was on leave but we've managed to track her down to give her the vouchers. See photo below. We've also included a snap of Audrey Lister - this week's prize draw winner. There are only five more chances to win £50 of high street vouchers. You'll be entered automatically when you have your vaccination.