A flu vaccination programme for Thames Valley Police staff helped cut the number of sick days caused by the virus by more than half, despite only a 24 per cent take up, new figures reveal.
The £20,790 scheme, administered last November, was so successful that the police authority is today being asked to provide up to £30,000 for it to be carried out again this winter.
A total of 3,905 working days were lost to flu in both civilian and officers ranks between November 1, 1999, and March 31, 2000, costing the force £313,362 in sickness pay.
In the same period last year, following the flu jabs, the figure had fallen to 1,821 days, costing the force £158,824.
Sickness rates among the 1,416 staff who took up the offer of vaccination fell from 1,060 days to 340 days.
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