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1. Scope and purpose
This document contains guidance for primary and secondary care services in the UK on managing surge capacity and the prioritisation of services and patients during an influenza pandemic.
The guidance was developed by a cross-specialty project board with input from the Department of Health Healthcare Pandemic Influenza Group (which includes a wide representation of internal and external key stakeholders) and the Scottish Government Health and Community Care Pandemic Influenza Steering Group. The comments submitted in response to the consultation on the provisional guidance Pandemic influenza have also been taken into consideration.
This guidance should be used to inform current planning during World Health Organization ( WHO) Phase 3 and to assist in the development of pandemic preparedness plans. It is intended for operational use in the UK once WHO declares Phase 6 and the Department of Health in England (as the UK lead agency for pandemic influenza) declares UK alert level 1 (see Appendix 1).
Once an influenza pandemic is declared, if new clinical data on the course and outcome of the illness emerge from experience in the UK or elsewhere, then health services may have to modify their surge response. Health services should ensure that they refer to the most up-to-date version of this guidance at www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu
This guidance should be read in conjunction with the following documents or their country-specific counterparts:
- Pandemic flu: A national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic
- Responding to pandemic influenza: The ethical framework for policy and planning
- Pandemic influenza: Guidance on preparing acute hospitals in England
- Pandemic influenza: Guidance for primary care trusts and primary care professionals on the provision of healthcare in a community setting in England
- Pandemic influenza: Guidance on preparing mental health services in England
- NHS Emergency Planning Guidance 2005: Critical care contingency planning in the event of an emergency where the numbers of patients substantially exceeds normal critical care capacity.
All of the above guidance is available at www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu, and other country-specific guidance is available at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/pandemicflu
www.wales.gov.uk/pandemicflu
www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/phealth/pandemicflu/pandemic-contingency.htm
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