HOSPITALS in the North East are being urged to make extra beds available after a stark increase in the number of flu-related admissions.
The most recent figures have shown 48 people in the region are in critical care wards with suspected or confirmed cases of the H1N1 swine flu virus.
The number of flu cases is predicted to rise in the coming weeks and further information regarding the amount of people seriously affected by the virus is expected to be released later today.
Hospitals in the region have plans in place to increase the number of critical care beds if required, and NHS North East has asked medical chiefs to activate those plans.
A spokesman for NHS North East said: “There has been sustained pressure on the system in the North East as a result of an increase in flu and the prolonged spells of cold weather but we are coping with the extra work.” The most recent figures on numbers of deaths, published on New Year’s Eve by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), showed 39 people in the UK have died with flu since the start of the outbreak in October.
The HPA said all but three of them were infected with swine flu, while the rest had influenza B.
Overall, 38 of the 39 victims were aged under 65, with four aged under five. Parents are being urged to get their children vaccinated against flu – which gives protection against the H1N1 virus as well as others including flu type B – if they fall into at-risk groups.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said it was “concerned” about the rising number of flu cases, and how it is affecting younger children.
Flu has been striking the under-65s, with relatively high rates in youngsters under 15. The Government has so far resisted calls for a national vaccination programme of young children, as was carried out last year for swine flu.
Dr George Rae, chairman of the North Eastern British Medical Association, said: “We are guided by public health doctors and at the present time young children are not deemed a priority for vaccination unless they are in an at-risk group.
“It is essential all adults and children in at-risk categories get the flu jab because if they get the virus then they are most at risk of getting complications and very, very unfortunately there have been cases where this has proven fatal.”
