Influenza Pandemic Plan
Part of emergency planning has involved primary care trusts pulling together robust contingency plans to enable local health services to deal with a flu pandemic.
The Difference Between Pandemic 'Flu and Seasonal 'Flu
Seasonal flu
This is a collection of viruses which circulate every year and which we vaccinate vulnerable and elderly people against. Most people recover well but around 100 people die each year from flu or complications following flu in Oxfordshire. Severity varies somewhat from year to year.
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Pandemic flu
Pandemic flu is when a new strain arises, spreads easily from person to person and affects a large proportion of the population. Like winter flu, the disease spectrum ranges from mild to severe and the proportion with severe disease varies between pandemics. It is hard to predict and not possible to know, for example, whether a pandemic will come this year or is more than 20 years away.
Further information on pandemic flu can be found at Department of Health: Pandemic Flu (external link)
Oxfordshire Influenza Pandemic Plan
The Oxfordshire Influenza Pandemic Plan covers NHS Oxfordshire ’s preparedness, readiness and actions at the various stages of a developing flu pandemic. The plan considers local co-ordination, surveillance, and communications during a pandemic; how to limit spread; the response required from primary care, including our GPs, community staff, and community hospitals; our out-of-hours services and links with other NHS Trusts and partner organisations. The plan is also supported by service operational plans.
The NHS, the police, local authorities and voluntary organisations need to be able to respond quickly and effectively in the event of a flu pandemic. We are working across organisational boundaries to ensure that the public receive co-ordinated and timely support and care.
What we know about pandemic flu is that it will have a serious impact on all public services. For health services, this will mean more of the public requiring healthcare support at a time when staff themselves could be affected by flu. This could potentially put healthcare services under considerable pressure and contingency plans are in place to ensure services continue despite any disruptions.