Surge of cases sees Doncaster put on 'flu alert

Doctors have reported a soaring number of cases across the borough, and say it corresponds to a similar pattern across Yorkshire.

Officials at Doncaster NHS Clinical Commissioning group have been notified of a spike in cases.

Dr David Crichton, chairman of the CCG and a Bentley GP, said official NHS statistics for Yorkshire and the Humber put the figure at 12.6 cases per 100,000 people last week. In Doncaster that would mean around 40 cases. It was a rise from 10.7 per 100,000 the previous week.

He said: “The peak has come earlier than we expected. But we are seeing more people going to the hospital and more people going to their GP. This is despite a good level of uptake for ‘flu jabs in Doncaster and South Yorkshire.

“I have seen a fair amount of people with ‘flu-like illness that has been in keeping with the regional figure.”

So far this winter, the trust which runs Doncaster Royal Infirmary says it has seen 381 cases of ‘flu. Of these, 67 cases were not admitted, and there are currently no wards closed due to the illness.

A total of 77 per cent of staff at the trust have been immunised.

Carol Scholey, lead infection control nurse at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, said: “As a trust we test patients with suspected flu on arrival using diagnostic equipment which provides the results in a matter of minutes so that patients with flu can be quickly isolated, reducing the spread of infection.

“However, we still need your help to reduce the spread of this infection.

“Whilst unpleasant, for those of us who are generally healthy ‘flu is easy to treat at home with lots of rest and over-the-counter medicines. For some of our more vulnerable patients with existing health conditions however, it can have more severe side-effects. You can help us to reduce the spread of ‘flu and to protect our patients by treating yourself at home and avoiding visiting loved ones in hospital if you have ‘flu-like symptoms.”