NHS Orkney have arranged the following appointed clinics and drop in clinics at The Balfour for those who are eligible for Flu and Covid vaccination on the following dates.

For the appointed clinics on Mondays, please call the Vaccination Team on 0300 303 5313 to book an appointment at these clinics. For the drop in clinic, please attend at any time as outlined.

Please check in at central reception of The Balfour for all these clinics.

• Monday 20 January – 1.30pm – 4.30pm (please call 0300 303 5313 to book an appointment at this clinic)
• Monday 27 January – 1.30pm – 4.30pm (please call 0300 303 5313 to book an appointment at this clinic)
• Friday 17 January – Drop in clinics between 9.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30pm – 4.30pm (no appointments needed, simply drop in)

For more information and to find out if you’re eligible, please visit nhsinform.scot/wintervaccines. You can also find out more on our NHS Orkney Vaccination Programme page. 

Vaccination is still the best way to avoid the worst effects of both flu and covid.

An increase in the number of hospitalisations due to flu in Orkney in the first week of the year led to NHS Orkney postponing a selection of planned procedures due to the pressures The Balfour was under.

The Number of acute influenza admissions to The Balfour has fallen from 5 in the week ending 5th January to 2 in the week ending 12th January.

Over the corresponding period there were no admissions to The Balfour for RSV or Covid.

The latest report from Public Health Scotland shows that attendances to GP practices for influenza-like illness and acute respiratory infections increased in week 2. However, the proportion of NHS24 calls related to respiratory symptoms decreased in week 2. Influenza-related hospital admissions in Scotland decreased by 46.6% from 1,077 in week 1 to 575 in week 2. However, the incident rate is still higher than most of the previous 14 seasons, and comparable to the same week in 2017/2018.

For the week ending 12th January there were  168 deaths which mentioned influenza and it was the underlying cause in 135 of these deaths. The 168 deaths mentioning influenza are the highest weekly figure since start of the series in 2000. 

There were 13 deaths involving Covid. Covid was the main cause in 9 of the deaths.

The provisional total number of deaths registered in Scotland in week 2 of 2025 (6th January to 12th January) was 1,938. This is 156 or 9% higher than the expected number of deaths. The increased number of deaths are  possibly due to higher rates of influenza, cold weather and other non-respiratory-related causes.

Around two thirds of those at-risk for influenza and three quarters of those at-risk for COVID-19 have not yet been vaccinated. Vaccine uptake is lower for both influenza and COVID-19 for all eligible groups when compared to the corresponding calendar week last year.

Fiona Grahame