Community pharmacist-led influenza vaccination: a service evaluation

Introduction:
Influenza is a highly contagious viral infection that poses a seriousthreat to public health. While the community pharmacist-led vaccination service has now been established in England for a decade, continual quality improvementof the service could increase vaccine uptake and improve patient care.
Aim:
To evaluate patient satisfaction of a seasonal influenza vaccination service in a community pharmacy setting.
Method:
Following the 2019/2020 influenza vaccination season, a service evaluation was conducted between 1 January 2020 and 29 February 2020, to evaluate the quality and acceptability of the service across a range ofcommunity pharmacy settings in England. The results were analysed for person-centredness, professionalism and privacy, and recommendations for serviceimprovement for the 2020/2021 season were proposed.
Results:
A total of 485 patients from 55 community pharmacies completed apatient survey; 88% of patients (n=426) were very satisfied with the quality ofthe service and with the caring and friendliness of the wider pharmacy team.Furthermore, 90% of patients (n=437) were very satisfied with the pharmacist administering the vaccine and 77% (n=368) with the standard of the consultation room in terms of brightness, cleanliness and being tidy. In terms of overall satisfaction, 99% of patients would recommend the influenza vaccination service to their friends and family, and 99% had confi dence in their pharmacistto extend the service to additional vaccinations (n=479).
Conclusion:
The community pharmacist-led vaccination service is highly valuedby patients. High levels of patient satisfaction were noted and this is signifi cantif there is to be an increase in uptake of the vaccination to meet the World Health Organization’s target to vaccinate 75% of adults aged 60 years and aboveand to increase vaccination coverage for all those in high-risk groups.