Super flu cases soar in the capital as Londoners urged to get vaccinated

0:02Hi, I'm Charlie Duffield and welcome back to The Standard Podcast. If you're new here, hit follow and give us a rating. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. Coming up later in the show, what we know so far about whether the British Medical Association will call off next week's doctor's strike. Here's Dr Jack Fletcher speaking to the BBC about a new offer which has just been tabled to members. So it contains some important legislation, as the health secretary alluded to. What it absolutely does not do is fix the workforce crisis amongst doctors in this country. We are seeing patients being managed in corridors.

0:45There were 54 ,000 patients who were waiting on any trolleys in October. That was a month without any industrial action. And yet we don't have enough doctors. Now, what this offer does is it repurposes some doctor roles from local roles into training rules to allow doctors to train as the GPs and the consultants and the specialists of the future. What it absolutely does not do is fix the workforce crisis in this country where we do not have enough doctors. There are no more doctors at the end of this deal which is why we have gone to our members to ask their opinion on it.

1:27But first, Christmas party season is in danger of being scuppered this year by a tidal wave of contagious flu. Superflu cases are rising sharply across the capital and Dr Yumi Chow, London Regional Deputy Director at the UK Health Security Agency, stressed that the outbreak of the virus is set to worsen in the run-up to Christmas. The latest figures showed there were on average 380 patients in London hospitals with flu in the week ending December 7th, compared to 259 the previous week, which is a rise of 48%. Viruses spread fast in London due to the high usage of public transport, high population density and due to it having some of the most deprived communities in the country.

2:18Londoners are being urged to stay at home and even to miss Christmas festivities if they're coughing or sneezing to avoid spreading the virus. 1.8 million people in London have already had the flu vaccine, with more urge to get the jab. And if we take a look at the figures nationwide, the number of people in hospital in England with flu has jumped by 55 % in a week, and is at a record level for this time of year, according to NHS figures. NHS England said the health service is facing a worst-case scenario December, with a surge of superflu. There are enough flu patients being treated each day to fill more than three whole hospital trusts, the NHS said.

3:03Here's what Dr Chris Strutha, Medical Director for NHS London, had to say. We've got the worst flu season that we've had since the COVID pandemic five and a half years ago. It's earlier in the year and the variant of flu we're seeing this year is easier to catch and easier to pass on. So that's resulted in three times as many people as we'd expect at this time of year being in hospital with symptoms of flu. There are lots of things that people can do to protect themselves against flu. It's best if people who've got symptoms, if they've got coughs or a runny nose, and can avoid being out in public and avoid infecting other people.

3:48So people with symptoms should stay away from work and stay away from public transport and stay away from crowded places. It's important that those of us who are entitled or eligible to vaccination get vaccination promptly. The vaccination is very effective against the current strain of virus and is completely safe. So we tell people the eligible categories are children from 2 to 17, pregnant mothers, people over 65 and people suffering from long term health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and lung disease. All these people can access vaccination via local pharmacies, via the NHS app or via the GP surgeries and we counsel people to get hold of these promptly because it's never too late to get vaccinated.

4:45And Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was asked how concerned he was about the flu figures plus whether the government needs to step in and advise people to start wearing face coverings. Well I think as far as the flu is concerned there's a winter plan in place and I had a briefing on that the day before last in terms of the robustness of the plan. I want to thank all the NHS staff who always step up during the winter period to deal with flu or whatever else. We do need to take precautions. There's no difference in the guidance, so we're not changing the guidance on face masks, but the usual things about ventilation, washing hands and just being careful when you're around people who are vulnerable is the guidance.

5:27It's common sense and I think most people would want to behave in that way. Meanwhile, doctors have been urged to call off their strike in the run-up to Christmas, with Dr Chris Streuther saying industrial action is now the wrong thing to do for the public of London. The latest walkout by resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, is currently scheduled to take place from 7am on December 17th until December 22nd. But Dr Streuther stressed that hospitals already faced the triple pressure from staff being off sick due to the flu, dealing with the huge wave of the virus and as they try to get patients off wards and home to avoid them having to stay in during the Christmas period.

6:09The British Medical Association have been offered a new deal and members will be surveyed online as to whether they are satisfied enough to call off the planned walkouts. We'll know for sure on Monday, just two days ahead of when the strike is currently expected to begin. Here's what the Prime Minister had to say. I'm very concerned with the action of the BMA. They are being irresponsible, in my view. We have already put in place quite a significant pay rise. There are other issues that they're concerned about, which we've been listening to, and we put an offer on the table to deal with those issues.

6:46But that offer can only go forward if they don't take strike action, particularly in the run up to Christmas, particularly when we've got a problem with flu. It would be irresponsible of BMA to push through. And I think for many resident doctors, I think in their heart of hearts, they probably don't want to do this. So I just say to the BMA, do the responsible thing, accept the offer that's on the table and we can all move forward. Because at the moment, this is a challenge not only to the winter, but also the good work we've done in bringing down waiting times, which is inevitable, these interests.

7:21And joining us now is The Standards political editor, Nick Cecil. Nick, what exactly is superflu? The superflu is a variant of flu which has arrived particularly early this year. It's hit London particularly early and it is spreading fast. And it's a more contagious variant than normal. It's what they call a drifted influenza A H3N2 strain, also known as a subclade K. to ordering london's it means there's lots and lots of flu around and there's a good chance that you may catch it and how bad is the superflu in london right now can you share some figures with us yes so we just got the latest figures on hospitalization due to flu so this isn't comparable to the covid epidemic so you're far less likely to end up in hospital with flu than you are during the COVID pandemic.

8:19So the latest figures, this is for the week ending December the 7th, there were 380 patients in London hospitals with flu. And this compares to 259 the week before. So that's a rise of 48%. So that shows you how quickly this virus has been spreading. I spoke to Bart's NHS Health Trust yesterday, which is the biggest health trust in London, and they said their figures now, or several days later than the official figures, they say their cases have come down to 47. So that may possibly be a sign that lots and lots of people now in London are vaccinated, particularly the vulnerable, so fewer people may start to be going to hospital.

9:04But it's really too early to say with any certainty. Let's go to an ad break. Coming up, we'll hear more from Nick about the best precautions to take against the superflu, plus the latest on next week's Doctors Strike. We'll see you back here in just a moment.

9:26Welcome back. So do you think we've reached a peak yet? Health chiefs in London, they think the peak has not been reached yet, and that actually may come in the run-up as we get close to Christmas. So they're urging Londoners to get vaccinated. Some Londoners can get the vaccine free on the NHS if you're a pensioner, pregnant women, children. So they're urging these people, these vulnerable groups, to get the vaccine as soon as possible. And they're also saying that people who aren't eligible for the vaccine free on the NHS, that spending£15 or£20 to have it at your local pharmacy would be money very well spent.

10:04And why is this winter's flu season worse than previous years? I think it's due to the variant and the fact that the outbreak has arrived particularly early. It may be slightly more virulent than other strains, but the doctors are saying it's not particularly more dangerous. What is different is how contagious it is, so it's spreading a lot faster. So, Nick, how can people limit the spread of this virus? What measures need to be taken? Well, there are a couple of measures which the health chiefs in London are already recommending. One of them is that if you've got flu-like symptoms, don't go to work, don't jump on the tube or buses or trains, stay at home.

10:47So it's a bit like during COVID. So they're saying that's a very good way to stop the virus spreading. And these days, many people can work from home quite easily because a lot of people have got used to it. So that's one thing they're recommending. They're also saying that, again, if you've got flu symptoms, don't go to your Christmas parties because there you'll be in close proximity to lots of other people, family, friends, colleagues, and there's a good chance that you could pass on the virus to them. And I heard a rumour that there was a shortage of flu vaccinations. Is there any truth in that?

11:22Not that I've heard of, and I'd be surprised by that because the health chiefs in London are encouraging more people to come forward and to get the vaccine. If there were shortages, I think there would have been a bit more low key about encouraging people to get the jabs. So do you have any other advice? One thing that the public health chiefs in London are saying is that if you actually get the vaccine now, you'll get the maximum protection by Christmas Day. So if you delay it, then you might not be as best protected as possible. So they really encourage people to come forward in the next few days and to have the flu jab.

12:01And so far, already 1.8 million people in London have had the vaccine. And this will eventually stop or slow the spread of the virus, because as more and more people are vaccinated, they're less likely to get the virus, and they're certainly far less likely to get severely ill. So as more and more people get the vaccine, then it will find it harder to spread, then this outbreak, very, very large outbreak will die down. And what would the impact of this potential doctor's strike be? Yeah, so this is due to start on Wednesday. And the health bosses in London have been very clear that hospitals are under a triple pressure.

12:41So that not only are they have staff off due to flu, they also are trying to get patients out of hospital wards to go home before Christmas. So they're very busy doing that. And now there's this threat of the doctor's strike. So they're really kind of saying it's going to be difficult. So the junior doctors or resident doctors, as they're now known, coming under increasing pressure to call off the strike. So what are they demanding? It's a mixture of demands, partly is paid, it's access to training jobs. But the health secretary where he's treating has been very firm. He said he's made a new offer with some more help in terms of the training programme for junior doctors, resident doctors.

13:22And he's saying he's really very, very disappointed with the British Medical Association stance on this. They've put this to the doctors and to say that the strike may be called off before Christmas. us. If not, the hospitals will be under huge pressure. Finally, do you think it will end up going ahead? It's very hard to tell. Doctors aren't a lot of pressure to call it off, but so far they've been quite militant in their demands and their stance.

13:53And that's The Standard. For all the latest news head to standard.co.uk. If you'd like to get in touch please do drop us a line at podcasts at standard.co.uk. We'll be back here on Monday morning. We'll see you then.