00:01Health services in Gateshead are preparing for what could be a longer than usual flu season as pressure on hospitals
00:07and other services begins to build.
00:09Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust says it is getting ready for winter 2026-27, following an increase in flu cases
00:18in the Southern Hemisphere earlier this year.
00:21Counselors were told the extended flu season could mean a longer period of pressure on local services.
00:26One of the measures already in place is the Frailty Virtual Ward.
00:31It allows some frail patients to receive hospital-level care in their own homes, rather than staying in hospital.
00:37The aim is to reduce the risk of their condition getting worse during a hospital stay.
00:42Five acute respiratory illness hubs are also due to reopen across the area in November.
00:48They will give GP practices extra capacity to assess and treat people with respiratory conditions.
00:53Joanna Clark, who is Operations Director for Medicine, Community and Older Persons Mental Health at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, says
01:02preparations are underway, but the pressures winter brings are difficult to predict.
01:06She told counsellors that hospital beds were already seeing patients with COVID.
01:11She warned that although the illness is not what it once was, it can still be serious for older and
01:16frail people.
01:17Flu vaccination among trust staff is another part of the preparations.
01:22The latest figure given to counsellors was 43.5%, with the trust aiming to reach 60%.
01:2820%
01:28m
01:29Again, the blind are few drastic concerns.
01:29a
