Message to patients as Peterborough City Hospital avoids worst of winter flu crisis
Medical staff at Peterborough City Hospital are avoiding the worst of the winter flu crisis that is afflicting many hospitals across the country.
While the Bretton-based hospital has seen a rise in the number of patients with flu-like illness, officials say the figures are on a level with previous years.
The news comes just a day after bosses at the East of England Ambulance Service put crews on the highest level of emergency in response to a soaring number of illnesses and delays at hospitals across the region.
A spokesperson for the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the city hospital, Stamford Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital, said: “We are not seeing flu here in the same way as other parts of the country and the figures don’t compare differently to other years at the moment.
She added: “Currently our message remains the same, we always ask people to come to A&E only if they absolutely need it.”
New figures show that nationally, cases of flu have risen by more than 50 per cent over the week with health chiefs fearing the peak of infection has not yet been reached.
An average of 2,660 patients a day were in hospital with flu last week, which is thought to be the highest level at this time of year.
Last year Peterborough City Hospital bosses issued a message urging people with cold or flu symptoms not to visit Peterborough City Hospital after a spike of cases across the country.
But they also pointed out that cases in Peterborough had not increased at the same level as in other areas of the country but that staff were determined to slow the spread.
The East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) ramped up its resource escalation plan (REAP) to level four – the highest status – as demand for its services soars as a result of a surge in respiratory illnesses, which has left hospitals at full capacity stretching ambulance resources as a result.
Neil Moloney, chief executive of EEAST, said: "There is an extraordinary level of pressure on the health system nationally, and we have made the decision to move to REAP 4 – the highest escalation level.
"We have seen a huge spike in demand, driven by an increase in respiratory illness, which means many hospitals are at capacity and our ambulance resources are stretched as a result.
"I urge the public to think carefully before using 999. If you have a medical emergency, we will get to you, but there may be a delay."