NHS Direct 'at breaking point'

: Patients waiting two days for help in worst flu outbreak for ten years

By Louise Eccles and Sophie Borland
Last updated at 4:51 AM on 23rd December 2010

The NHS Direct helpline is at ‘breaking point’ as parts of Britain experience the worst flu outbreak in a decade.

Patients calling the service are being forced to wait up to two days before they can speak to a nurse, and managers have launched an emergency recruitment drive.

GPs in the worst-affected areas are being paid up to £188 an hour to work over Christmas and help deal with soaring numbers of cases.

Spreading fast: Cases of the flu have doubled in the past week, with 17 people dying from the illness

Infection rates have doubled over the last week and more than 300 patients are fighting for their lives in intensive care, the vast majority suffering from swine flu.

But despite the growing crisis, ministers and leading doctors insist the outbreak is ‘no worse than usual’.

Earlier this week Health Secretary Andrew Lansley told a Cabinet meeting that although figures were slightly up on last year, they were no higher compared with two years ago.

Dame Sally Davies, the interim Chief Medical Officer, has repeatedly insisted that the illness is ‘just winter flu’. Yet doctors in some parts of the country including Leicester and the East Midlands warn they are seeing the worst outbreak in ten years.

There are three strains of flu circulating this winter – swine flu or H1N1, influenza B and H2N3.

Experts say swine flu is far more prevalent than the other two strains, and is proving more deadly. So far this winter there have been 17 confirmed flu deaths, and 14 of the victims had swine flu.

The latest infection rate figures show that there are now 87.1 cases per 100,000 people, up from 32.8 per 100,000 last week.

Children aged five to 14 are the worst affected, followed by those under four, according to the Royal College of GPs.

Well caught: There are now 87.1 cases of flu per 100,000 people - up from 32.8 cases per 100,000 last week

Over the last few days the number of calls to NHS Direct has soared by 50 per cent and senior nurses say the helpline is ‘at breaking point’.

Last weekend up to 46,000 people called the service, the equivalent of almost 960 an hour.

Callers are categorised as Priority 1, 2 or 3, depending on the severity of the illness, and are then called back by a nurse who advises them on treatment.

Last week a third of ‘Priority 3’ callers – including those with swine flu or norovirus, the ‘winter vomiting bug’ – waited longer than two hours for a call back, and for some the delay was as long as two days.

Up to 40 per cent of ‘Priority 2’ callers, such as those with broken bones, waited longer than an hour before speaking to a nurse.

Even the most urgent cases – including suicidal patients or parents fearing their baby has meningitis – are being forced to wait longer than 20 minutes to speak to a nurse.

Managers are urgently trying to recruit more workers and staff are being hauled in on their days off or from their Christmas holidays to help man the phones.

Staff are being asked to take calls from home and are also being encouraged not to take allocated breaks.

One senior nurse told the Mail: ‘This is by far the worst it has ever been. People have not been receiving call backs for 48 hours – it’s appalling.

‘I am concerned about the way the public are being treated. They are not getting the support they need. When they call us about themselves or a relative, they want to speak to someone quickly, not two days later.’

Stretched to the limit: According to sources, some patients are having to wait two days before getting a response from NHS Direct (posed by models)

She said the nurses were being put under increasing strain and were expected to take ‘call after call without a break’.

Although NHS Direct insists that 99 per cent of the most urgent ‘Priority 1’ cases are getting through to a nurse within the target time of 20 minutes, staff admit that increasing numbers are being forced to wait longer.

The senior nurse added: ‘Sometimes there are 30 Priority 1 cases backing up. It is very stressful.’

Last week there were 5,675 more calls to NHS Direct compared with the same week last year.

Up to 40 per cent of staff at NHS Direct are qualified nurses and the remainder are operators who have undergone a small amount of training in handling calls and offering advice.

Nick Chapman, NHS Direct chief executive, said: ‘We apologise if people have had to wait longer than expected to receive a call back from us at this busy time.

‘Like the rest of the health service, NHS Direct is extremely busy at this time of year, and last weekend the telephone service received 50 per cent more calls than forecast.

‘The excessively cold weather creates demand for health care generally, and in particular for telephone services that you do not need to leave the house to access.’