Nick Hulme, chief executive of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, is urging patients and visitors to wear face masks to help control the spread of influenza and alleviate pressure on the NHS.
A hospitals boss has urged both patients and visitors to wear face masks to try to stop the spread of the flu and ease the strain on the NHS . The plea came from Nick Hulme, chief executive of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Ipswich Hospital and Colchester Hospital. he said while trust bosses cannot insist people wear face coverings, they are 'strongly recommending' it.
'It protects you and your family, and it protects the community, so it's really important we do everything we can to stop these flu numbers in their tracks,' he added. Colchester Hospital has been under immense pressure over Christmas, says Mr Hulme. Mr Hulme said staff had been thrown 'slightly off course' by the volume of patients already heading to hospital with the flu.because of their close proximity to patients infected with flu, Covid-19 or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). At the time, NHS data showed 96.46% of beds at the trust were occupied, but Mr Hulme said there were 'no plans' to shut down 'our elective programmes'. Mr Hulme visited both Ipswich Hospital and Colchester Hospital on Christmas Day and said he had never seen so many patients waiting for a bed. 'It was extraordinary to see the level of patients on both sites. It was much worse at Colchester but even at Ipswich there were no beds,' he said. 'Traditionally, on Christmas Day, you'd walk in and there would be 100 empty beds, but the world has changed dramatically. 'But these were patients that were sick and they needed to be there, but it's about the flu really hitting us hard and earlier than it normally would do.'As well as his face mask plea, Mr Hulme also urged anyone eligible for a flu vaccine to make sure they get one. He said: 'Real flu is devastating and can be life threatening, so it is really important people access the flu jab when they can, and indeed the Covid vaccin
Flu NHS Hospitals Face Masks Health Crisis
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