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Hospitals 'running short of beds for swine flu patients'
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By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:30 AM on 02nd November 2009
Sir Liam Donaldson said a shortage of intensive care beds for swine flu patients was a 'concern'
Swine flu is putting hospitals under increasing pressure, the Government's chief medical officer warned yesterday,
Sir Liam Donaldson said a shortage of intensive care beds for the most seriously-ill patients was a 'concern' with the number of cases rising.
His comments come as Government advisers consider introducing a vaccination programme for all 10 to 18-year-olds. There is growing concern about the impact of swine flu on young adults and children.
Figures released last week showed that children under 15 made up a fifth of all swine flu hospital admissions. More than 200 children have been treated in hospital - including 27 who are in critical care.
The number of new cases in England increased by 50 per cent last week to 78,000, but Sir Liam said the rate of increase was slower than feared.
He told the number of people affected by swine flu had increased at a slower rate than feared.
'What we are seeing is that while most people generally get a mild illness, a small proportion of people are getting very serious illnesses,' said Sir Liam.
'It's taking them into hospital and a small proportion are dying.
'The good thing about the situation at the moment is we are getting a bit of breathing space with the relatively slow increase in cases to be able to get the vaccine in place,' he added.
The number of new cases of swine flu in England increased by 50 per cent last week to 78,000 (file picture)
Asked about the strain the pandemic was placing on the NHS he said: 'We are seeing the general practitioner services not under a great deal of pressure at the moment and we also have this alternative route of access through the internet and the telephone lines to let people get assessed and get anti-virals.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1224580/Hospitals-running-short-beds-swine-flu-patients.html#ixzz0VfIyKzLs
<SCRIPT src="http://scripts.dailymail.co.uk/js/diggthis.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:30 AM on 02nd November 2009
Swine flu is putting hospitals under increasing pressure, the Government's chief medical officer warned yesterday,
Sir Liam Donaldson said a shortage of intensive care beds for the most seriously-ill patients was a 'concern' with the number of cases rising.
His comments come as Government advisers consider introducing a vaccination programme for all 10 to 18-year-olds. There is growing concern about the impact of swine flu on young adults and children.
Figures released last week showed that children under 15 made up a fifth of all swine flu hospital admissions. More than 200 children have been treated in hospital - including 27 who are in critical care.
The number of new cases in England increased by 50 per cent last week to 78,000, but Sir Liam said the rate of increase was slower than feared.
He told the number of people affected by swine flu had increased at a slower rate than feared.
'What we are seeing is that while most people generally get a mild illness, a small proportion of people are getting very serious illnesses,' said Sir Liam.
'It's taking them into hospital and a small proportion are dying.
'The good thing about the situation at the moment is we are getting a bit of breathing space with the relatively slow increase in cases to be able to get the vaccine in place,' he added.
Asked about the strain the pandemic was placing on the NHS he said: 'We are seeing the general practitioner services not under a great deal of pressure at the moment and we also have this alternative route of access through the internet and the telephone lines to let people get assessed and get anti-virals.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1224580/Hospitals-running-short-beds-swine-flu-patients.html#ixzz0VfIyKzLs