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Foreword
Pandemic influenza will be a widespread, rising-tide phenomenon rapidly threatening to overwhelm health services in the UK, and necessitating changes to the scope and delivery of healthcare. As the pandemic develops, it is likely that some treatments will be deferred, clinical care standards will be modified and access to some treatments will be restricted. Where possible, any impact on people's health will be minimised, but when the numbers of people requiring care exceed available capacity, then it is inevitable that the health of some people will be affected. The challenge will be to provide sufficient or reasonable care to as many people as possible, while balancing the need to provide a minimum level of comfort to everyone.
Preparations for dealing with a surge of patients - and how services and patients are prioritised - need to be developed, agreed and in place before a pandemic strikes. It is important that a common set of prioritisation criteria is used across the UK. Clarity and transparency will be important elements of this, as will be planning according to the same national planning assumptions and principles as set out in Pandemic flu: A national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic.1
This guidance restricts itself primarily to recommending the principles and approaches that should be adopted by health services. Nevertheless, it recognises that the interface with social care (and other sectors) is critical and that, to ensure effective management of patients, a common understanding of how patients should be managed and cared for across health and social care is required.
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