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Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...outbreak-could-affect-750000-under-fives.html
Flu outbreak 'could affect 750,000 under fives'
An outbreak of pandemic flu could affect 750,000 children under five and leave the NHS unable to cope, the Government has admitted.
By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
Last Updated: 6:39PM BST 05 Sep 2008
Children's wards would be unable to deal with the sheer numbers of youngsters hit by the virus, because of a lack of beds, a new report shows.
The warning is contained in official draft guidance on how the health service should respond to the threat of a pandemic flu.
Doctors warn that an outbreak could kill up to 750,000 Britons.
Some experts believe that a pandemic flu is overdue and that it could be fatal for millions across the world.
Last month the Government announced that a possible flu pandemic was the greatest threat facing Britain.
A new "risk register" placed an outbreak of pandemic flu above terrorism as the emergency that would have the largest impact.
Around the same time ministers confirmed plans to double stocks of a drug which can lessen the length and severity of flu symptoms.
The flu pandemic of 1918 killed more than 200,000 people in Britain and up to 40 million across the world.
New guidelines drawn up by the Department of Health warn that if such a disaster did happen again then three quarters of a million young children could be affected.
It warns that the NHS does not have enough children's beds to cope with demand.
During the last outbreak of pandemic flu in 1969 the illness was most severe in the under fives and the over 50s.
The guidance, called "Pandemic influenza: Surge capacity and prioritisation in health services", warns that "given the existing number of beds, it is likely that the demand for paediatric critical care will outstrip capacity".
The document also reiterates advice that hospitals should effectively become quarantine zones, allowing no visitors, and with one single entry point and heightened security.
Hospitals should also draw up criteria by which to discharge patients as soon as possible, to help them cope with increased demand, the report warns.
It also advises that hospitals could have to cancel all planned operations and divert every possible resource to dealing with the crisis.
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: "This report demonstrates the scale of the challenge that the NHS faces and the absolute importance of having sufficient facilities in place to cope with the crisis that could develop in such circumstances.
"The potential impact of pandemic flu is such that we have to treat it as seriously as we do terrorism and it must be given the highest possible priority.
"Disease can spread like wildfire. Robust planning is of critical importance."
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "Internationally, Britain is at the forefront of preparations for a flu pandemic.
"No country can expect to escape the impact of a pandemic when it happens, which is why the Government is aiming for Britain to be as well prepared to respond and recover as possible."
The World Health Organisation has reported that Britain's pandemic flu preparations are among the best in the world.
An influenza pandemic is defined as one which spreads worldwide.
Flu outbreak 'could affect 750,000 under fives'
An outbreak of pandemic flu could affect 750,000 children under five and leave the NHS unable to cope, the Government has admitted.
By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
Last Updated: 6:39PM BST 05 Sep 2008
Children's wards would be unable to deal with the sheer numbers of youngsters hit by the virus, because of a lack of beds, a new report shows.
The warning is contained in official draft guidance on how the health service should respond to the threat of a pandemic flu.
Doctors warn that an outbreak could kill up to 750,000 Britons.
Some experts believe that a pandemic flu is overdue and that it could be fatal for millions across the world.
Last month the Government announced that a possible flu pandemic was the greatest threat facing Britain.
A new "risk register" placed an outbreak of pandemic flu above terrorism as the emergency that would have the largest impact.
Around the same time ministers confirmed plans to double stocks of a drug which can lessen the length and severity of flu symptoms.
The flu pandemic of 1918 killed more than 200,000 people in Britain and up to 40 million across the world.
New guidelines drawn up by the Department of Health warn that if such a disaster did happen again then three quarters of a million young children could be affected.
It warns that the NHS does not have enough children's beds to cope with demand.
During the last outbreak of pandemic flu in 1969 the illness was most severe in the under fives and the over 50s.
The guidance, called "Pandemic influenza: Surge capacity and prioritisation in health services", warns that "given the existing number of beds, it is likely that the demand for paediatric critical care will outstrip capacity".
The document also reiterates advice that hospitals should effectively become quarantine zones, allowing no visitors, and with one single entry point and heightened security.
Hospitals should also draw up criteria by which to discharge patients as soon as possible, to help them cope with increased demand, the report warns.
It also advises that hospitals could have to cancel all planned operations and divert every possible resource to dealing with the crisis.
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: "This report demonstrates the scale of the challenge that the NHS faces and the absolute importance of having sufficient facilities in place to cope with the crisis that could develop in such circumstances.
"The potential impact of pandemic flu is such that we have to treat it as seriously as we do terrorism and it must be given the highest possible priority.
"Disease can spread like wildfire. Robust planning is of critical importance."
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "Internationally, Britain is at the forefront of preparations for a flu pandemic.
"No country can expect to escape the impact of a pandemic when it happens, which is why the Government is aiming for Britain to be as well prepared to respond and recover as possible."
The World Health Organisation has reported that Britain's pandemic flu preparations are among the best in the world.
An influenza pandemic is defined as one which spreads worldwide.
