HOSPITALS in the North East are having to postpone operations to free up critical care beds as the rising number of swine flu patients swamp wards.
NHS North East said facilities for patients needing critical care are being managed on a day-to-day basis, with additional capacity in place to care for flu patients and all other patients urgently requiring critical care.
However, a number of non-urgent operations have had to be postponed to cater for an increased demand in critical care beds throughout the region due to the H1N1 swine flu virus.
Newcastle Hospitals confirmed five operations were cancelled, along with three at Gateshead Healthcare, three at Northumbria Healthcare and six at City Hospitals Sunderland.
A spokesperson for Newcastle Hospitals said: “As a consequence of the increased number of patients being admitted with respiratory illness and swine flu the Trust has, regrettably, found it necessary to cancel a small number of elective cases.
“The vast majority of elective activity has been accommodated this week with the exception of five cases which, it was anticipated, would require a critical care bed post-surgery.”
A spokeswoman for Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust said: “Like all hospitals in the North East, patients coming in to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital are assessed on a priority need basis and resources are allocated appropriately.
“Due to the current high levels of flu currently circulating, we have had to temporarily postpone three patients operations. We anticipate these patients will have their surgery within the appropriate access timescales. On average, we carry out 1,000 operations a month.”
Last night, a leading doctor urged people to remain calm about the threat of swine flu as only “a small number of those affected are becoming critically ill”. Dr Tricia Cresswell, deputy medical director at NHS North East, was speaking after new figures showed a rise in the number of people requiring critical care beds.
Information released by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) yesterday showed 58 people in the region were critically ill with suspected or confirmed cases of the H1N1 illness. Dr Cresswell said: “We appreciate people are worried about swine flu, but the reality is that only an extremely small number of people become seriously ill after catching it. Most people who get flu make a full recovery without any need for treatment. I am in no way minimising the distress caused to patients who become seriously ill and their loved ones, but it is important that we keep things in perspective.”
It was confirmed yesterday that one of the victims of swine flu was Paula Williams, principal of Whitburn C of E Academy in South Tyneside, who died at Sunderland Royal Hospital on Monday.
Those at risk from complications are being urged to get the flu jab despite vaccine supply issues in some areas of the region. Faisal Al Durrah, consultant in public health medicine at NHS South of Tyne and Wear, said: “Some GP surgeries locally have come to the end of their stocks of flu vaccine. We are working closely with GPs to ensure that any supply issues are resolved as soon as possible.”
So far, 50 people have died from flu across the UK, the HPA said. Of these, 45 died with swine flu and five with another strain, flu type B. The deaths are mostly among children and young adults, with five cases in the under-fives and eight cases among those aged five to 14. Another 33 cases are in people aged 15 to 64.
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