Shropshire hospitals cancel operations as flu cases rise
Friday 7th January 2011, 12:00PM GMT.
A rise in emergency admissions of patients suffering from flu and other seasonal illnesses has forced Shropshire’s two main hospitals to cancel operations.
Bosses at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust say they will reschedule routine surgery at the Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, doctors’ surgeries which have run out of flu vaccine will be able to order vital supplies over the internet, the Government’s top immunisation expert said today.
Some practices have had to turn away vulnerable people this week as the death toll from the virus continued to rise, with the number of deaths from flu since the start of October up to 50.
Though the Shropshire hospitals have been under increasing pressure, there has been a fall in patients going to GP surgeries with flu-like illnesses. Experts say figures have to be interpreted with caution as the rate of consultations will have dropped with schools and GP surgeries closed over the holiday period.
Tina Cookson, interim ch-ief operating officer at Shr-ewsbury and Telford Hosp- ital Trust, said today: “At th-is time of year there’s always high and sometimes unpredictable levels of seasonal illness and we often see a rise in emergency admissions.
“Unfortunately this does mean that, at times, we have to postpone some non-urgent surgery so that we can provide care for the high number of patients who require emergency care.”
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