A major drive to get staff vaccinated against flu is under way at York Health Services NHS Trust.

All trust employees are being offered the jabs to keep as many of them as possible healthy this winter.

Around 250 staff, including doctors, nurses and porters, have so far been inoculated, and health chiefs hope to have vaccinated 500 when the programme ends.

The Trust is aiming to keep staff sickness as low as possible because high staff sickness means healthy staff have to cover for their colleagues.

And the vaccination programme could prevent some patients catching flu.

Medical director Mike Porte said: "This major drive to inoculate staff is part of our winter planning. The aim is to ensure that we have enough staff to cope with the inevitable pressures which arise each winter in the NHS."

Occupational health business manager Andrew Gilbey said: "The take-up has been right across the board and has been a big increase on last year.

"The sooner people have it done, the better."