A retired infection control nurse warns that hospitals are facing unprecedented pressures due to a surge in four viruses – flu, Covid, RSV, and norovirus – with no easy solutions in sight. Dr. Evonne Curran expresses concerns about the impact on patients and staff, highlighting the challenges of infection control in overcrowded hospitals.
A retired infection control nurse says she has never known a situation in hospitals where four viruses are rife at such high levels
“I think it is understandable that people are terrified of going into hospital at the moment. I wouldn’t want to go into hospital in the current situation.” Dr Curran, who is a doctor of nursing and has a masters of public health and diploma in infection control, says one of the problems is that all these viruses – includingThe rate of new flu infections in the general population may be slowly starting to decline, according to the latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency .
“Everyone thinks it is people not washing their hands – that’s not the case,” she said. “These are airborne viruses and even norovirus is found in the air for several hours and is more likely to be inhaled. She added: “We know not as many people as we would have liked got the flu or Covid vaccination this year so they are more vulnerable to viruses.
“Hospitals are full of vulnerable people and the Covid Inquiry has highlighted that the air in healthcare is not clean enough.“Simple, cost-effective measures such as installing air filters and providing public information about the protective benefits of FFP2/3 masks could significantly reduce these airborne risks, paying for themselves through fewer staff absences and shorter, healthier hospital stays for patients.
“It is hard to quantify just through the data how tough it is for frontline staff at the moment – with some staff working in A&E saying that their days at work feel like some of the days we had during the height of the pandemic.”
Hospitals Viruses Infection Control Healthcare Crisis NHS Flu Covid RSV Norovirus
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