Frontline staff at Worcestershire Health and Care Trust have one of the country's best records for getting flu jabs to protect themselves and their patients, new figures reveal.

Public Health England statistics show that 85.6% of 2,758 frontline workers at the trust were vaccinated against flu by the end of January.

It was one of the highest uptake rates in England, and well above the national average of 72.4%.

Doctors, nurses, clinical staff and support workers involved in direct patient care are encouraged to have the jab.

Trusts have financial incentives for staff uptake, receiving full payment if at least 80% have it, and a decreasing amount down to 60% coverage, below which they get nothing.

The target is measured between September and February, and the payment varies depending on the size of the trust’s contract.

The proportion of staff who had the vaccine by the end of January differed widely across the 231 trusts that submitted figures.

The East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust recorded 94.7% of staff having the vaccination, while the uptake rate was just 40.9% at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, described the disparity as “worrying”.

“The NHS has enough to worry about without further issues with staff being unwell when it may have been prevented,” he added.

“We know there is a financial incentive for NHS trusts to get their staff vaccinated but I would hope the health need and protection it offers would be more than enough to persuade people.”

However, Dr Scriven added that the bulk of influenza cases for the winter season had already occurred.

Across England, the 72.4% uptake rate at the end of January was better than at the same point a year earlier, when it stood at 68.6%.

Dr Doug Brown, chief executive of the British Society for Immunology, said the flu vaccine is the best protection we have against a virus that can lead to serious illness in vulnerable groups.

He added: “It’s important to continue to promote uptake of the seasonal flu vaccine among frontline healthcare workers to reduce the risk of spreading the virus and causing serious illness in at-risk groups."

An NHS spokesman said: “Flu can cause serious illness and adds significant pressure to the health services, which is why NHS staff have worked hard to achieve a record level of uptake for the vaccine so far this winter, with almost 50,000 more frontline staff choosing to protect themselves, their patients and colleagues than last year.”