NHS Cheshire and Merseyside September 2026 Blog
Tuesday, 15 September 2026
As we head into autumn, I’d like to start by encouraging everyone who is eligible to take up the offer of a flu vaccination.
Bookings are now open and getting vaccinated is one of the simplest things we can do to protect ourselves, our loved ones and the NHS ahead of winter.
With children returning to school, I’d also encourage parents and carers to make sure their children are protected against flu and to return consent forms in good time.
Vaccination is an important part of keeping children healthy and helping to prevent the spread of infection among families and communities.
For those heading off to university, Freshers’ Week is an exciting time - but it’s also worth putting your health on the checklist.
Students should check that their routine vaccinations are up to date and, if eligible, take up the offer of the new MenB vaccine to ensure a healthy start to university life.
In other news, we were delighted to see Cheshire and Merseyside achieve the second-highest overall patient experience score of any region in England in the National Cancer Patient Survey.
This is a fantastic achievement, and I want to thank colleagues across our hospitals, GP practices, diagnostic services and community and voluntary sector partners for their continued commitment to improving experience at every stage of care.
It is also wonderful to see the breadth of innovation and good practice across our region recognised in this year’s HSJ Awards shortlist.
Cheshire and Merseyside has received 12 nominations across eight categories, highlighting the outstanding work taking place across our health and care system – from tackling health inequalities to bringing care closer to home.
I also welcome the continued progress we are making in reducing smoking in our region. Smoking in pregnancy rates have fallen by 26% across Cheshire and Merseyside over the past year, and 59% of people who used a stop smoking service last year successfully quit.
These figures demonstrate what can be achieved when people are given the right support to make positive changes to their health, and I’d like to thank our maternity and stop smoking teams for the vital work they are doing to help people quit and give children the healthiest possible start in life.
Liz Bishop
Chief Executive
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside