New equipment for Welsh hospitals to help care for patients with swine flu

The Welsh Assembly Government is funding the purchase of more ventilators for hospitals to help them deal with a potential increase in swine flu patients.

Ventilators are used to help people with respiratory problems – conditions that can be made worse by swine flu.

The £1.429m funding will provide 65 extra ventilators for critical care units in hospitals across Wales.

Plans are also in place to double the number of critical care beds in hospitals, should they be required, along with specialist staff.

The announcement follows the start of the swine flu vaccination programme which began yesterday with people in at-risk groups and frontline healthcare staff being the first to receive the vaccine.

Mrs Hart said:

"Advice I have received suggests that the swine flu pandemic is behaving as expected and in the vast majority of cases, people recover well with rest, plenty of fluids and paracetamol within five to seven days.

"However, as the number of swine flu cases rise, the number of people experiencing severe symptoms or complications or even death is likely to increase. This is the same for seasonal flu in the winter.

"Wales, along with the rest of the UK, has been praised for our plans to deal with a flu pandemic. We are planning for an expected increase in swine flu cases and as a result are funding the purchase of more ventilators.

"We have now received the first supplies of the swine flu vaccine and GPs have begun administering the vaccines to those most at risk of complications – this activity will continue over the next few weeks. It will help with our management of the pandemic and reduce pressure on the NHS, particularly from people with complications from flu."

The Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Tony Jewell, added:

"I want to praise NHS staff for their efforts so far in managing the pandemic. I know they have worked extremely hard and will continue to do so as the number of cases increases.

"We are well prepared to deal with this virus, and have been working with suppliers to ensure that delivery of the ventilators will be as soon as possible. This latest investment will provide another tool for the NHS in caring for the small, but vulnerable, group of patients who experience severe swine flu symptoms or complications."