Hawkesbury Hospital’s emergency department has seen an increase in people presenting with chest infections and flu like illnesses this month, with an above average number being diagnosed with Influenza.
The new Director of Emergency Services, Dr Suzanne Brady at Hawkesbury District Health Service said some cases required admission to hospital, although in general this is not required
“There were 15 Influenza positive cases treated in the emergency department in June 2017 and 52 in July,” Dr Brady said.
“A portion of these presentations resulted in admission to hospital.
“The NSW Health Influenza surveillance program advises the predominant strain is Influenza A and they are expecting continued rises of presentations throughout July.”
Dr Brady said it was not too late to be immunised against the flu, saying people needed to consult with their doctors.
“The current spike in emergency presentations has put quite a burden on the health service who are coping admirably.”
“The overall number of people presenting to the Emergency Department, particularly by ambulance, is also significantly higher compared to the same time last year.”
Dr Brady said to help relieve some of the pressure on the Emergency Department, they ask people with non-urgent medical conditions to visit their doctor or the Hawkesbury After Hours GP Clinic or phone the @HomeGP service for a doctor to visit them.
“These services are bulk billed and the doctor will forward a copy of your report to your regular doctor the next day.
“We stress that if you are having a medical emergency, please phone triple 000 for an ambulance,” concluded Dr Brady.
People can learn more about how to prevent the flu by visiting: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/influenza_factsheet.aspx
