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NHS intensive healthcare units 'almost full'
December 24, 2010
NHS healthcare services are finding it difficult to cope with the number of flu patients they are dealing with.
Healthcare services across the UK are struggling to deal with the influx of patients suffering with serious cases of flu.
According to the Daily Mail, intensive care units in NHS hospitals are close to being full as a result of the current flu outbreak.
"Some hospitals have only one or two life-support machines left and critically ill patients are being transferred by ambulance to other trusts," the newspaper stated.
It added some healthcare managers are even drawing up plans to transform operating theatres into temporary intensive care departments to deal with the pressure the NHS is under.
According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), 27 people in the UK have died of flu since October.
Professor John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the HPA, urged people in at-risk groups for the disease - such as pregnant women, the elderly and individuals with heart problems - to make sure they get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Published by Holly Butler
Private Health Insurance News
