The top doctor in Wales has described the country's healthcare system as "the busiest I've ever seen it". It comes as flu, coronavirus, and other illnesses mount pressure on services.
Chief medical officer Dr Sir Frank Atherton told the BBC on Saturday that all Welsh health boards were "at the highest level of escalation". A total of 1,877 flu cases were recorded across Wales in the week up to Christmas and 369 of those led to hospital treatment – only a month on from a week which saw just 53 hospital admissions for flu.
"Traditionally people have called 111 but even that is under significant pressure," said Dr Atherton. "We have had double the number of calls in a week compared to the same time last year."
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He said a 111 website offering advice had launched to ease pressure, adding: "The health and care system is under such pressure – it's the busiest I've ever seen it. The new year is always the busiest time but we are going into it with all of our health boards at the highest level of escalation. And that is an unprecedented situation so we are encouraging people to find other ways to manage more minor conditions."
In the week up to Christmas some 178 patients "definitely" caught coronavirus in hospital and a further 73 "probably" did according to Public Health Wales. We reported on Friday that respiratory infections are "rife" on wards and putting the most vulnerable at risk.
Health boards have asked people to avoid hospital visits if they have flu-like symptoms so that patients are protected. Of the flu admissions in the latest recorded week more than half were people aged over 60 and almost a quarter were children, the BBC reports.
Dr Atherton said flu was on the "rise in all four nations" of the UK, adding: "People who are frail and elderly will be badly affected and will need hospital services and that's what we are seeing here and that's added to the pressures that's coming from everything else. It's a bad season. It's on the rise because we haven't seen much flu and we haven't seen any of the respiratory diseases for the past few years because of the measures around coronavirus such as lockdowns and masks that led to far less circulation but they're bouncing back and that's what is happening this year."
The chief medical officer urged eligible people to get a free flu jab and others not to "go mixing with your granny if you have a cold or anyone particularly vulnerable". He also said mask-wearing is advised in hospitals.
It comes two days after Swansea Bay University Health Board, which runs Morriston Hospital, urged people to only attend A&E for life-threatening illnesses and serious injuries. The health board has been dealing with the spread of a vomiting and diarrhoea bug as well as a jump of more than 170 cases of flu, Covid, and other viral respiratory infections in just one week at its sites. Mask-wearing has been reinstated across Swansea Bay’s hospitals due to the concerns. You can read more about this issue here.
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