HEALTH staff are being urged to get their flu jabs to protect themselves and the people they care for.

South West Yorkshire NHS Foundation Trust has 4,600 staff working in clinical and non-clinical areas.

The trust provides community, mental health and learning disability services to people in Kirklees, Calderdale, Wakefield and Barnsley.

A total of 98% of contact with service users takes place in the local community.

This is why health chiefs are encouraging staff to get vaccinated.

The call comes as official figures show that only 34.7% of all healthcare workers in England got the flu jab last year.

Dr Peter Carter, of the Royal College of Nursing, said that while NHS staff should not be forced to get immunised, they had a professional duty to do so.

He said: “Patients and healthcare staff suffer when nurses are off sick.”

Staff across the trust will be able to get their flu vaccination at a number of specially arranged clinics.