Let's Talk About Vaccines Training

The power of conversation: new Let's Talk About Vaccines training shown to increase confidence

Our Personalised Care Training team has an exciting new training offer for all of our staff across BOB: Let's Talk About Vaccines.

It has been great hearing all the positive feedback from attendees, with a large increase in confidence and understanding of the importance of vaccination conversations. Attendees said the tools and techniques provided, as well as the discussions, all helped them to feel more confident in having these conversations.

Frontline health and social care professionals are feeling the constant pressures and demands across healthcare services, especially as we head into the winter season. So, starting conversations about the importance of flu and other vaccinations can help to ease these pressures.

Discussing vaccines is an important way to help people make an informed choice, and therefore has significant potential to increase uptake, improve population health and reduce demand for services. In my role, focused on vaccinations and infection control, I can see first-hand the effects of people not having vaccinations, for example with the rates of infection increase of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR). Spreading this message to patients is challenging, especially to those who are less likely to have a vaccine.

We have a great solution to help. Through exploring the myths and barriers around vaccine hesitancy, our training will make you more equipped to discuss vaccinations in your everyday conversations with patients.

I led the vaccination rollout for Covid across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West (BOB). In this time, I saw and heard from professionals on the ground that many don’t have the confidence to open up conversations with people who are hesitant about having vaccinations. The Let’s Talk About Vaccines training uses approaches from Making Every Contact Count (MECC), Shared Decision Making, and Motivational Interviewing. Through these, no matter what your role is, you can gain confidence, skills and knowledge for building vaccination conversations into your everyday contact with patients.

Providing staff with vaccination conversation training can also help to tackle health inequalities. We know that those least likely to take vaccinations are those who are often most vulnerable to becoming seriously unwell. This training will help make the most of every opportunity with patients and the public, so that all-important conversations about vaccines can take place no matter who you’re talking to.

I would recommend this training to anyone looking to improve their vaccination conversations. I encourage you to sign up to one of our training dates and see the amazing difference these all-important conversations make.