NHS will unveil special hubs amid warnings flu season could be biggest ever

26 July 2023 , 23:01

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Hubs will be rolled out (Image: PA)

Britain is braced for one of its biggest ever flu seasons, NHS chiefs have warned.

NHS England will unveil its plans for winter at a board meeting today, rolling out specialist hubs for conditions such as flu and Covid in a bid to stop GPs being overwhelmed.

It will warn that Australia, where flu activity usually predicts what will happen here, is experiencing one of its biggest flu seasons.

Four in five flu-related hospital admissions there are children. NHS medical director Dr Vin Diwakar said: “Boosting the numbers of specialist hubs for patients with respiratory problems means patients can get seen quickly.”

He added “this winter is going to be a difficult one”. The acute respiratory hubs are set to be rolled out to every area. Flu jab uptake among over-65s fell from 82% to 76% last year.

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Experts fear this year's flu season could be widespread (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

An MPs’ report being published today sounds the alarm on vaccine uptake. Health and Social Care Select Committee chair Steve Brine MP said: “Vaccination is one of the great success stories when it comes to preventing infection.

“However, unless the Government addresses challenges around declining rates among childhood immunisations… the UK’s position as a global leader on vaccination risks being lost.”

NHS England is also set to roll out care “traffic control” centres to speed up discharge by putting together NHS, social care, housing and voluntary services in one place in each region.

Martin Bagot