Rhiza Labs FluTracker Forum

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SWINE flu is back.

The Health department has confirmed that ten cases of swine flu have been identified in the last few weeks.

None of the infected Islanders have needed hospital treatment, but the department says that it is closely monitoring the situation...........

Stay away from hospital if you don't need to be there. That's the message from NHS Northamptonshire, as our general hospitals in Kettering and Northampton and the local ambulance service continue to feel the effects of increased demand on our services over the festive period.

A rise in flu cases over the Christmas period saw both Nenedoc (the GP Out of Hours Service) and Accident and Emergency (A+E) departments experiencing very high levels of demand from patients, with 50% more people using the Out of Hours service compared to this time last year.

Examples of inappropriate use of A+E include coughs and colds, old injuries or joint problems, queries about medication, toothache, and 'getting a second opinion'. Appropriate use of A+E would include cuts which won't stop bleeding or may need stitches, burns which are large, deep or may need dressings, limb injuries which are painful or swollen and could be caused by a broken bone, serious medical problems such as chest pain, collapse, or heavy blood loss.

To help cope with the increased demand and to relieve the pressure on our A+E departments, all local health services are working together to prepare for the busy New Year bank holiday weekend. Details of additional opening hours and services will follow tomorrow.
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Jamie q;o)
On Thursday 30th December 2010, @razorsharplad said:
(In reply to shibleylondon)

@shibleylondon Owah... This is going to get ugly... I think the strain has changed, according to a friend, H1N1has featured in all flu jabs for as long as he can remember, he works in RNA lab

http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Northamptonshire/Towcester/NN12/News/Local-News/183973-Stay-Away-From-Hospital-Says-NHS

Stay Away From Hospital Says NHS!



With the New Year weekend rapidly approaching our emergency services are going to be overwhelmed.....................

In addition to ICU bed capacity issues, flu patients also occupy ward beds, both pre and post their ICU admission (many flu patients stay in hospital up to 3 weeks after leaving the ICU). Furthermore not every flu patient admitted to hospital ends up in an ICU bed. Yet I continue to see no stats on the non-ICU flu patient bed occupancy rates. This is another rate limiting step for the system.

At this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere hospitals are normally stretched close to capacity in both their ICU's and in medicine (non-surgery) ward beds. Flu admissions exacerbate these situations.