E N D
1. Swine Flu Pandemic Response Lessons learned Professor Lindsey Davies
RCGP Conference Pandemic Summit
Thursday 18thMarch 2010
3. Potential impact
25 - 50% people with symptoms
50,000 - 750,000 deaths
80,000 1,115,000 needing hospital care
15-20% absent from work at the peak
Ł1,242bn cost to society 1242 is at 50% attack rate with no mitigation, total costs including estimates of lost lifetime earnings etc1242 is at 50% attack rate with no mitigation, total costs including estimates of lost lifetime earnings etc
4. Defence in depth
5. UK pandemic preparedness in April 2009
Cross-government framework and guidance
Local multi-agency plans
Catch It, Bin It, Kill It
NHS operating framework
NHS plans and self assessment
Countermeasures
Communications plan and materials
CAMDEN PCT posters on the underground
CAMDEN PCT posters on the underground
6. UK countermeasures in April 2009 Antivirals to cover 50% of the population
A small national reserve supply of surgical face masks and respirators
Pre-completed contracts with suppliers for the supply of vaccine
Flu Line in development
Business cases prepared for HMT for antibiotics, masks, respirators, consumables
7. UK preparation and response Planning and preparation 1997-
Slowing the spread April-June 2009
Managing outbreaks June 2009
Focus on rapid treatment July 2009-
8. Slowing the spread Laboratory confirmation of cases
Treating all suspected and confirmed cases
Collecting detailed case data
Tracing close contacts and offering prophylaxis
Closing schools
Public health campaign
Leaflet to all households
Swine Flu Information Line
HPA/NHS Flu Response Centres
Building resilience countermeasures, health and social care preparations
Surpirses- didnt get everywhere quickly and did affect well- off areas initially Surpirses- didnt get everywhere quickly and did affect well- off areas initially
9. Focus on treatment Initially in hotspots only, later UK-wide
Antiviral treatment for people with symptoms.
Limited prophylaxis
National Pandemic Flu Service July 2009 February 2010
Local risk assessment
Immunisation from October 2009
11. The pandemic in numbers
12. The NHS response 4.7 million vaccinations given to priority groups so far
1.2 million courses of antivirals dispensed through the NPFS and primary care
Clinically led surge plans including the doubling of critical care capacity and available ECMO beds
All NHS Boards published statements of readiness, demonstrating board level engagement and accountability in preparedness
Robust and tested command and control arrangements including organising mutual aid
13. Primary Care an excellent response
Huge pressure in some areas, particularly on out of hours services; tremendous response from staff
Patience with rapidly evolving national advice
Tested flu pandemic plans in Primary Care against best practice (eg: DH SURGE, DH/NHS Employers HR Guidance and Critical Care Checklist)
Provided guidance Pandemic Flu: Planning & Responding to Primary Care Capacity Challenges, September 2009
PCT Boards published Statements of Readiness and took an active part in Exercise Peak Practice in their regions
14. Primary Care an excellent response
Response to swine flu critically dependent on stakeholder engagement and partnership working close relationships with clinical leaders vitally important
Design of the National Pandemic Flu Service and the clinical algorithm was supported by the Royal Colleges, RCN and BMA. In addition, a team of clinicians from the RCGP supported the operation of the NPFS, by providing clinical advice
Many practices put in good models of buddying and mutual aid for business continuity
Vaccination programme undertaken by over 8000 GP practices, delivering essential vaccinations to patients at-risk, health and social care workers and children under 5
15. The impact of swine flu implications for resilience Speed: in many local areas, the number of cases and demand for services developed with great pace, requiring an agile yet coordinated response
Profile: the media pressure and public thirst for information was intense, requiring frequent and consistent communications
Cross-sector: the response spanned different sectors and organisations, requiring close working and mutual support
Local hotspots: the demands of the pandemic were not uniform, with different areas under pressure at different times (and some not at all), requiring understanding and flexibility
Duration was different. Particular applicability for other periods of sustained increases in pressure, such as winter
16. NHS emerging lessons An opportunity to test preparedness plans
The scale of what has been achieved is significant
We can be even better prepared for the future
Public health and emergency planning in the spotlight
Preparedness and resilience are generic concepts that now need to be incorporated into the NHS mainstream
Maximise knock-on benefits of swine flu for resilience
Act now before skills and experience ebb away
17. NHS next steps
NHS Boards to take improving resilience seriously
SHAs to oversee, and ensure that resilience covers the whole health economy in an integrated way.
The Operating Framework requirement provides a vehicle to prioritise action
Strengthen resilience for pandemic flu, other national emergencies and the management of operational pressures.
18. UK Pandemic Preparedness March 2010 Antivirals for 80% of the population
227 million surgical face masks and 34 million respirators for NHS and social care staff
Antibiotics for 30% of the population
National Pandemic Flu Service
Business continuity plans and awareness
Experienced responders in all sectors
19. Emerging lessons The importance of planning and preparation
The need to plan for a range of scenarios
The impact of strong leadership
Reliable and appropriate surveillance is essential
Regular, proactive, timely communication is vital
Pre-existing relationships make a real difference
Containmnet
Mutual aid
Containmnet
Mutual aid
20. And finally
A huge thank you to all of you as both strategic and local leaders, to local GPs and clinicians who have supported all staff across the system
The response from the NHS has been excellent
And you have minimised the number of unnecessary deaths or harm to patients and retained confidence in the NHS amongst the public, patients and politicians
We need to capture the skills and experience gained from managing swine flu to maximise our ability to respond to emergencies and provide a first-class service to the public and taxpayer