Rough sleepers offered flu vaccine again this year

Photo: AllisonLouvain - stock.adobe.com

HART Outreach nurses will be going out across the borough to vaccinate homeless and transient people

Rough sleepers in Rochdale will be offered the flu vaccine again this year, thanks to the Homeless Alliance Response Team (HART) Outreach nurses, who will be going out across the borough to vaccinate homeless and transient people.

The service is run by Rochdale Health Alliance and paid for by NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale CCG and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership as part of the Greater Manchester Homeless and Rough Sleepers Influenza Immunisation Programme.

Last year the flu vaccination was offered at special health sessions at the soup kitchen at Champness Hall. This year the vaccination team are going out and about to a variety of venues where they hope to find homeless people who have been signposted there by other support services;

The HART team is available throughout the winter at the following venues at the designated times:

• Mondays 8.30am-10am - Petrus, 73 Great George Street, Rochdale OL16 1QG
• Tuesday 11am-3pm - St.Chad’s, Turning Point, 11-14 Chad's Court, Rochdale OL16 1QU
• Wednesday 8.30am-12.30pm - Petrus, 73 Great George Street, Rochdale OL16 1QG
• Friday 9am-12noon - Brentwood Day Centre (post lockdown), 115 Long Street, Middleton, M24 6DL

Jackie Stansfield, Head of Clinical Services and Development at Rochdale Health Alliance, said: "We have been pleased to have the support and funds of our local and Greater Manchester commissioners in enabling the new team to again deliver important protection for these people who are hard to reach and who struggle to access to traditional services like GP and clinic appointments.

"This year because of Covid-19 it is even more important that we protect this vulnerable group by preventing ill health and contributing to easing pressures on our urgent health services.

"It’s nice to hear that our nursing team is receiving an appreciative response from the homeless people receiving their care, this makes it all the more satisfying."