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Swine Flu latest: Four more deaths in Greater Manchester – and 27 are fighting for life in hospital
Amanda Crook

December 30, 2010

Four more Greater Manchester people are thought to have died from flu and 27 others are fighting for life as the region takes the brunt of the swine-flu virus.

A man from Trafford, a patient from Tameside, and a teenage boy, from Oldham, have died after suffering from swine flu and health bosses believe it also contributed to the death of a younger child, from Bury.

Their deaths are expected to bring the death toll from H1N1 in Greater Manchester to twelve out of 36 nationally.

And 27 people, with serious complications caused by flu, are fighting for life in intensive care or high dependency wards in the region's hospitals.

This is putting pressure on the region's hospitals – at times this week there have been no intensive care beds available at some of the region's flagship hospitals including the Manchester Royal Infirmary and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Staff at Wythenshawe hospital have now treated five people with their highly-specialist ECMO treatment.

Two have been moved to other hospitals and three are still receiving the intensive treatment for lung failure.

All the intensive care beds at the Manchester Royal Infirmary were full yesterday morning but staff expected two to become free later on.

And the Royal Manchester Children’s hospital's 17 intensive care beds were also full but hospital bosses say they were coping with demand.The trust is treating up to 35 patients with swine flu throughout their hospitals.

A spokeswoman for Central Manchester Hospital said: “The NHS has plans in place every winter to deal with the increase in demand. Critical care services are extremely busy at the moment, but our staff are well prepared and our primary concern is ensuring patient safety. “Plans are in place to ensure that people who need critical care get access to treatment.

"Patients are continuously moved out of critical care beds as soon as their condition allows and it is safe to do so.

“The availability of intensive care beds fluctuates on a regular basis throughout the day.”

At Wythenshawe Hospital, in south Manchester, staff are treating six swine flu patients in intensive care and four with suspected swine flu are being assessed on an isolation ward.They have also had to postpone a small number of non-urgent heart operations as specialist heart staff are treating ECMO patients.

A hospital spokeswoman said: “We are working closely with local GPs to direct people who have flu-like symptoms to the local walk-in centre at Wythenshawe Forum, and our newly established on-site assessment centre, which is adjacent to our A/E is working well.

“Because of ECMO we are having to postpone some non urgent cardiac operations, but that is only a temporary measure, and we are grateful to those heart patients for their understanding and patience.”

A spokesman for Stepping Hill Hospital, in Stockport, confirmed they are treating 13 flu patients. Eleven of these patients are having help to breathe, four are in the intensive care unit and four have the H1N1 virus.

Cases of critically ill people with swine flu have increased in the last week – up to 74 in the north west from 53 last week.

A spokesman for Pennine Acute Trust, which runs hospitals in Bury, North Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale, said: “Our Accident and Emergency departments are generally busier this year and attendances are five per cent higher than the same period last year.

“The situation in relation to critical care beds can change rapidly. Occupancy is always high but we are managing within our overall bed complement of 48, however there is currently only one critical care bed available across the trust. Of these beds, two are occupied by patients confirmed with swine flu.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Oldham said: “It is with regret that we confirm a third person from Oldham has died at the Royal Oldham Hospital, with swine flu as a part of the cause of death.

“The teenage boy had serious underlying illnesses.”

A spokeswoman from Trafford confirmed the death of a resident and a spokesman for Tameside confirmed a person had died at Tameside General Hospital.

And a spokesman for NHS Bury confirmed they were investigating the death of a child from the town earlier this month.

Dr Peter Elton, head of public health for Bury said: “We are seeing high levels of flu and we know the main strain circulating at the moment is H1N1 or swine flu.

“We would expect numbers to decrease during the school holidays but this has not happened; numbers in the community are definitely increasing.

“GPs and the out-of-hours system are very busy but coping well and the pharmacies now have supplies of anti-virals so GPs can prescribe them at their discretion.”

A spokesman for Salford PCT said they were not prepared to say whether anyone from the town had died from flu.

As previously reported in the M.E.N., the death toll already includes a Manchester man, a woman from Bolton, two men from Oldham, a man from Rochdale, a man from Macclesfield and a man and woman from Bury.

Swine flu death at Coventry HospitalA patient in Coventry has died after contracting swine flu.

The University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire said the man died on Christmas Day.

A spokesman said he had an underlying condition which was known to increase the likelihood of having a severe response to swine flu.

NHS West Midlands said there were 88 patients with flu or suspected flu in critical care in hospitals in the region.

Doctor's swine flu warning
A SENIOR hospital doctor has warned people in Thanet that a significant rise in swine flu cases may be just days away.

James Nash, director of infection prevention and control at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, has warned that the H1N1 virus is spreading.......................................

45 swine flu cases at Worcestershire hospitals
8:20am Friday 31st December 2010

THERE have been 45 confirmed swine flu cases seen at Worcestershire hospitals since December 9, it has been revealed.

The number of people with flu like illness is continuing to rise across Worcestershire and at a national level as part of the normal development of seasonal flu.

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Man dies of swine flu in Coventry University Hospital
Dec 31 2010

By Warren Manger, Health Reporter

A NORTH WARWICKSHIRE man has died from swine flu in Coventry’s University Hospital – the region’s first victim of the winter.

The man, who was in his 50s, had long-term health issues that made him particularly vulnerable to the virus, health chiefs said.

Yesterday, another five patients were critically ill at the hospital in Walsgrave.

All have underlying health problems.
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During the three days after Christmas the walk-in centre in Coventry saw 668 patients - up 14 per cent from last year.
And the city’s out-of-hours service, which provides urgent GP care when practices are closed, saw 923 patients.

That included 51 home visits on Tuesday alone.

Many patients had flu-like symptoms or respiratory infections which are commonly linked to the virus.

Extra staff even had to be drafted in to meet demand and plans are now in place to do the same over New Year.

The Accident and Emergency unit (A&E) at University Hospital has also been busy, seeing more than 1,300 patients during the three days after Christmas including many with flu-like symptoms.

Hospitals make emergency plans over sharp rise in flu patients
9:00am Friday 31st December 2010

The Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust is drawing up a list of staff it can call upon in the next week, following a sharp increase in the number of patients suffering flu.

In the two days following Christmas Day and Boxing Day the trust’s hospitals saw a noticeable rise in the number of emergency admissions – up around 25 per cent on the same period last year.

This represented around 50 to 60 emergency medical admissions each day – the equivalent of around two wards full of patients.

The trust was forced to open additional beds in its hospitals, by making use of areas that were not in use over the Christmas period. ......................

Family devastated by death of popular Copmanthorpe newsagent Paul Band
9:15am Friday 31st December 2010


By Jennifer Bell »

A “LOVING and dedicated” father of two has died suddenly, possibly of swine flu, leaving his family devastated.

Paul Band, 48, who owned and managed Copmanthorpe Newsagent’s, collapsed at his home in the village in the early hours of Tuesday, after complaining of flu-like symptoms.

Mr Band died at 10pm that day at York Hospital. Doctors told his family they thought Mr Band had contracted a virus, possibly swine flu, which led to him collapsing of a suspected heart attack. He leaves a widow, Jayne, a seven-year-old son Nathan, 17-month-old daughter Leah and parents John and Betty Band, all of Copmanthorpe.

Tim Barnett, who is married to Jayne’s sister Kathryn, spoke on behalf of Paul’s family to pay tribute to “the friendliest of people”.

He said: “Paul was a very popular character. He was always smiling and friendly and was very hard-working.

“He would do anything for anyone and always go the extra mile.

“He had lots of friends and he will be missed by anyone in the village who knew him.

“Everyone who knows what happened to him has said how sad they are.”

“He was a loving husband and dedicated father. He was very happily married to Jayne, whom he met through church and Christian groups.”

Mr Barnett said all the family were devastated and still coming to terms with their loss.

He said: “The doctors did their best; they gave him their best treatment, but there was nothing they could do.

“It was very sudden and something we are all still trying to get our heads around.”

Just days before his death Mr Band had written on his Facebook page, complaining of feeling ill. He wrote: “Bed early tonight... it is time for my body, after today, to be regenerated by the healing properties of sleep and wrapped up duvet warmth.”

Mr Barnett said Mr Band began to feel “fluey and under the weather” on Christmas Eve and had tried to rest up at home over the festive season. But he collapsed at 4am on Tuesday and never regained consciousness.

A post-mortem examination is yet to take place.

Mr Band had been the owner and manager of Copmanthorpe News, on Church Street, for five years. The shop has now ceased trading.

A notice on the door yesterday read: “Due to the sudden death of Paul, we have regrettably decided that the newsagent’s will have to close with immediate effect.”

Mr Band studied theology at the University of Hull in 1981 after he attended Sandbach High School, in Cheshire.

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http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8764546.Family_devastated_by_death_of_popular_newsagent/