A RECORD number of people took up the chance of a free flu jab over the winter, new figures reveal.

The Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) recorded that 78.1 per cent of people in their area aged 65 or over had the injection - well above the Government target of 70 per cent.

Of the PCT's 18 GP practices, eight achieved figures of over 80 per cent, eight exceeded their own performance for 2003, and all 18 exceeded the national target.

Director of public health Dr Phil Kirby said: "We are absolutely delighted with the uptake in our area, particularly as several of our practices were affected by the national problems with the supply of flu vaccine.

"These excellent figures are the result of the hard work and dedication of our colleagues in general practice, especially nursing staff. We are grateful for their efforts."

Pharmaceutical adviser Ken Latta said: "After several years of campaigning for older people to take advantage of the free vaccination, we can see that getting the flu jab is something which is becoming a regular part of the autumn routine for most old people.

"This is excellent news, because sooner or later we will have a major flu epidemic in this country, and if more people get vaccinated, more lives which will be saved."

However, he did sound a note of caution: "What does concern us is that only 53.3 per cent of our 'at risk' patients under the age of 65 were vaccinated this year.

"Although previous campaigns have targeted this group of patients, it is still not routine for many of these patients to get vaccinated annually. We will be stepping up our efforts to encourage these patients in the future."