NHS flu crisis saw North East hospitals ‘close’ to declaring critical incidents amid winter 'quad-demic'

The Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle
-Credit:ncjMedia


NHS organisations in the North East "came close" to needing to declare critical incidents due to the pressure caused by flu over the festive period.

That's according to one of the region's top health bosses. Samantha Allen, chief executive of the North East and North Cumbria integrated care board (ICB) explained that it had been an "extremely demanding" period for the health service.

Speaking at a meeting of the ICB this week, she referenced how in some other areas of the UK, the flu crisis had led to "critical incidents" being declared, but that the health service in our region had not reached that point. Shocking reports at the beginning of January included how some patients waiting more than two days to be admitted to hospital in A&E, with hospitals in places like Liverpool and Birmingham declaring things were critical.

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To do so formally highlights the huge pressures hospitals are under and that services cannot carry on as normal. Ms Allen told the board meeting on Tuesday how, busy as it had been, the NHS organisations in the North East had not reached that point.

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She said; "We have been through an incredibly busy time across NHS services, in terms of the peaks over the Christmas and New Year period that I'm sure many colleagues will be familiar with, and in terms of the respiratory issues that perhaps they've experienced or family members have experienced.

"The demand on our emergency departments and in our hospitals has been really significant in that period."

Ms Allen added: "I can share that during that period within the North East and North Cumbria we did not reach the point where we needed to declare a critical incident at any particular point in time here given those pressures. But I would say it was extremely demanding and there were certainly some days, and hours and evenings where we certainly came close to that, particularly given the level of demand being placed on hospital services, the occupancy in hospital and indeed the respiratory issues that were so prevalent in the general public and also being experienced by our own staff as well."

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She added her thanks for all the NHS staff who had helped to keep services going, and said it was only thanks to "mutual aid" - NHS services and hospitals helping each other where needed - that needing to declare critical incidents had been avoided.

Flu in particular has seen huge pressures on NHS services this winter - combining to form what's been called a "quad-demic" with other viruses Covid-19, RSV and norovirus. As part of measures to combat this, "respiratory hubs" have been set up and will remain open through February to support those with flu-like symptoms. The extension of this provision has been funded by £1.5m in money from the ICB.