NHS plea: Get a flu jab now
Appeal as hospital cases reach double the peak of last season
HEALTH chiefs have issued an urgent plea to get vaccinated to avert a winter crisis as Britain’s flu season takes off.
After two years when of Covid restrictions keeping cases very low, infections could rebound dramatically due to low immunity.
The number of patients in hospital with flu is already more than double the last season’s peak, NHS figures show.
An average of 344 were on wards in England last week, 10 times the figure at the same time last year.
There were 29 in intensive care, compared with just three in the same week last November. Admissions to critical care are now higher for flu than for Covid.
Writing in the Daily Express today, Health Secretary Steve Barclay says this winter will “one of the most difficult yet” for the embattled NHS.
He points out for some people, flu is merely unpleasant, but for others who have other health conditions, it can prove dangerous and even life-threatening.
Mr Barclay adds: “Earlier this month, I joined the over 17 million people that have come forward for their flu jab, at the same time as I got my booster for Covid-19.
“It was quick and easy, and I’d urge all Express readers to come forward and join me if you haven’t already.”
In a sign of escalating concern, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recommended antiviral medicines should be made available in the community.
The drugs, which reduce risk of serious illness, can now be prescribed by GPs to vulnerable patients who have symptoms of flu or live with someone who has it.
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, said: “We are currently seeing higher rates of flu at this time of year than usual. It is important those eligible have their flu jab as soon as they can.
“Antiviral medicines can now be prescribed in primary care settings such as GPs and pharmacies to those eligible who are most at risk to the complications of flu.”
UKHSA immunisation chief, Dr Mary Ramsay, said A&E attendances for flu had also increased.
She said: “Alongside older adults, flu rates are rapidly rising in younger children.
“Vaccination remains critical and I urge everyone eligible to take up the offer.”
The rise in flu admissions comes as hospitals in England are already 95 per cent occupied, with around 87,000 of the NHS’s 93,000 general and acute beds full.
The health service is also in the middle of a bed blocking crisis – 13,000 are taken up by patients who are medically fit for discharge.
Staff shortages and a lack of resources in social and community care are causing delays, creating bottlenecks for those needing to be admitted to A&E.
Three in 10 patients arriving by ambulance – a total of 22,883 – waited at least 30 minutes to be handed over to hospital teams last week. That is higher than at any point last winter.
Martin Flaherty, managing director of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, said: “The life-saving safety net that NHS ambulance services provide is being severely compromised by these unnecessary delays.
“Patients are dying and coming to harm as a result on a daily basis.”
NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said the data “shows the considerable pressure faced by staff before we enter what is likely to be the NHS’s most challenging winter ever”.
He added: “The figures also show that flu is unfortunately already with us and so the concerns that we had about the threat of a ‘tripledemic’ are very real. It has never been more important to get protected against the viruses ahead of winter.”
Sir Stephen said the NHS had “extensive plans” to cope this winter, including boosting bed capacity, recruiting more 999 and 111 call handlers and introducing 24/7 control centres to manage demand.
He added: “Hospitals continue to contend with more patients coming in than going out with thousands of patients everyday in hospital that are medically fit for discharge.
“We continue to work with colleagues in social care to do everything possible to ensure people can leave hospital when they are ready.” There were 4,600 Covid-positive
patients in hospital as of Wednesday, down from 9,755 a month earlier.
However, experts have warned another wave could still arrive in the coming months.
Saffron Cordery, of NHS Providers, said: “The winter pressures trusts warned about have now arrived in full force.
“Emergency and ambulance services are already grappling under the enormous strain caused by the surge in cases of flu and other respiratory conditions, which are significantly higher than this time last year.
“They are only expected to get worse if we see another wave of Covid-19.
“Delayed discharges mean medically fit patients are not able to leave hospital fast enough, due to a lack of investment in social care and community services.
“That impacts bed availability and admissions and means ambulances are waiting to hand over patients to hospitals – delaying them from getting to other patients who need their help.”
Meanwhile, healthcare strikes are set to add to pressure next month as nurses walk out over pay.
The Royal College of Nursing will today announce the first dates for industrial action in England,Wales and Northern Ireland – on December 15 and 20.
The union’s general secretary and chief executive, Pat Cullen, said: “My offer of formal negotiations was declined and instead ministers have chosen strike action.
“They have the power and the means to stop this by opening serious talks that address our dispute.”
She added: “Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted, enough of low pay and unsafe staffing levels, enough of not being able to give our patients the care they deserve.”
Mr Barclay said he “deeply regretted” the decision of some nurses to strike.
He said: “Economic circumstances mean the RCN’s demands, which on current figures are a 19.2 per cent pay rise, costing £10 billion a year, are not affordable.”
THIS WEEK it was revealed that a breakthrough drug that slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease could be rolled out next year. With one in three people predicted to develop dementia in their life, this revelation will be lifesaving.
However, the celebration was short-lived, when the likes of renowned geneticist Professor Sir John Hardy warned that “only a fraction of patients” would benefit from the drug unless NHS waiting times were reduced. The severely understaffed NHS dementia service has estimated that, at the current rate, just one in 20 patients will be able to access the treatment. This grim reality check highlights one of many issues plaguing the NHS.
Moreover, warnings like this are not uncommon. Every day we hear horror stories like that of Andrew Jones, a 61-year-old cancer-battling grandad who was told that he couldn’t get a hospital appointment for three years. From unavailable appointments to delayed treatments, the reality that more and more people are losing their lives due to the systemic failures of our health system has never been more acute.
The NHS backlog has ballooned to a staggering 7.1 million people.Almost 20,000 people a day are waiting at least four hours in A&E, and it was recently revealed that one in four 999 calls were missed last month due to severe backlogs.
And like clockwork, the flu season doomsday predictions have been out in full force and, with it, the public’s growing weariness about accessing decent healthcare.
Enough is enough.
IT’S TIME we faced the reality that the NHS is failing. Every year our politicians pledge more public money to salvage this sinking ship. In fact, just last week, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the NHS would receive an additional £3.3billion in each of the next two years. But if all the NHS needed was more money, why is it in the worst state it has been in for decades? As a share of GDP, NHS spending has doubled from 3.5 per cent to just over 7.1 per cent in just a few decades. And it keeps growing!
Throwing money at the problem is clearly not working. The NHS doesn’t need more money. It needs reform and better management.
A good place to start would be reducing the bloated, overpaid NHS managerial staff. It is estimated 47.5 per cent of NHS staff have no medical qualifications; leaving almost half of our service staffed by managers, administrators and unqualified assistants. That is simply absurd.
Moreover, at a time when medical professionals are leaving in record numbers, and unionised nurses are embroiled in bitter pay negotiations, it beggars belief that the NHS is paying “diversity managers” £77,000 a year.
Perhaps the biggest failure of the NHS is its move away from patient-centred care. For years the Royal College of GPs has asked NHS officials to extend allocated GP consultations from 10 to 15 minutes. A demand which has mostly fallen on deaf ears. The crude rationing system of the NHS, which treats patient care like a production line has left many disillusioned.
And indeed, results from the British Social Attitudes survey have shown patient satisfaction is at an all-time low.
Various NHS chiefs have voiced support for exploring a two-tier healthcare system, whereby wealthier patients pay for healthcare upfront. Although the likes of Nicola Sturgeon called the suggestion “out of the question”, it is clear that the lack of real choice with regard to healthcare provision is becoming ever more unpopular. Even Rishi Sunak has come under fire for using a private healthcare scheme.
NONETHELESS, the point still stands; why should taxpayers pay a higher premium for a health service which they don’t use, and is no longer fit for purpose?
The NHS was set up at a time when the country was reeling from the disastrous effects of the Second World War. The country faces an entirely different reality now.We have an ageing population, a booming demographic and unrecognisable socio-cultural make-up. All of these realities place significant pressure on a highly centralised and nationalised healthcare system. What is the point of free, universal healthcare if the quality of the care is poor for all? Are we meant to tolerate inadequate healthcare because the suffering is equally distributed?
It is clear that we are at a crossroads with the NHS.And it is long overdue for our selfserving politicians to get off the fence and do something about it. Britons need good healthcare. Not a crudely rationed mess and excuses.
‘What is the point of free healthcare if it is poor for all?’