The Social Partnership Forum supports the NHS in preparing for the swine flu pandemic.
We acknowledge the successful contribution that NHS organisations and staff have made already to the effective UK response to swine flu. However, we are mindful of the need to avoid complacency and to maintain the high status of this collaborative work as we continue to help the NHS to prepare for a potential resurgence of swine flu cases in the autumn.
We have been engaged in discussions on the following issues:
- preparations for the roll-out of the swine flu vaccination strategy later this year
- re-registration to allow former staff to return to work
- greater flexibility in the application of the Working Time Regulations on working hours
- measures to relieve the burden of certification of illness by GPs
Partners agree that continued dialogue and collaboration is the key to successful delivery of the strategy to prepare the NHS for the swine flu pandemic in the long term, and have identified a number of areas for future work.
As information and guidance becomes available, the SPF will ensure early messages are included on this website.