Morning:
14°c
'Hospitals will be crippled by swine flu'
Alison Richards08.09.09
A SECOND wave of swine flu could cripple already over-stretched intensive care units in London, it was claimed today.
The pandemic is expected to peak by mid-October with thousands more patients being diagnosed.
The chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, has predicted that 19,000 could die from the disease in the worst case scenario.
But new figures obtained by the Conservatives suggest intensive care units are already at their limit.
In London, which has a larger number of intensive care beds on average than the rest of the country, more patients per hospital were discharged early last year — with an average of 23 — than the national average of 13.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: “The Government urgently needs to review its plans in order to help the NHS provide extra beds to deal with the pandemic.”
Reader views (5)
The swine flu is a nothing more than mass hysteria caused by the media as no more people have died frmm it than the regular flu. Been in the news for over a year now and nothing has changed.
- Dirk Diggler, Soho, London
Oh what joy - another excuse for the work shy to spend a week off work, another nail in the coffin for the UK as a productive and competitive economy. Oh and a government using it as a fantastic excuse for - would you believe - bigger government. Someone break the cycle - PLEASE!!!
- Milton Not Keynes, London
Why should UK hospitals be crippled by swine flu? It appears to be less severe, in spite of all the media hype, than your annual flu that goes around. For goodness sake, get a grip of yourselves, will you?
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands
Hospitals in the UK are "crippled" without a hint of swine flu showing its face.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR
With a government £2T in debt, 000 will be the best case scenario for a health service that would collapse if the much vaunted pandemic surfaced.
- William, Hay~Heath UK
