Over Half Of UK Believes A Pandemic Outbreak Could Be Realised, Says Survey By 21C

Main Category: Swine Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS;  Public Health
Article Date: 18 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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More than half of the UK population feels that a breakdown in communications between healthcare agencies would allow a pandemic outbreak such as swine flu to spread unnecessarily and slow the effective distribution of vaccines, according to a survey by specialist healthcare technology consultants, 21C.

According to respondents, 44% were concerned that the NHS and Department of Health (DoH) are not prepared to control a worldwide pandemic in the UK. However, the reality is that the technology, systems and processes required to proactively mitigate risk does not feature in the infrastructure of most NHS Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) according to the Company.

Paul Henderson, Managing Director at 21C explains, "PCTs have no choice but to act on mitigating the serious risk to public safety posed by potential pandemic outbreaks. Reactively addressing an outbreak is simply not good enough; it could allow a dangerous increase in the swine flu or potentially the avian flu which is widely expected to return in the autumn. Speed is of the essence if infections are to be contained, and having a business intelligence solution that automates the process for assessing patients and the public, managing, distributing and dispensing vaccines will save lives."

The current swine flu pandemic, declared only last week, has required the NHS to consider its processes for identifying patients, matching them to the availability of vaccines and controlling the whole process. 21C has developed Pandemic Manager, a business intelligence solution for automating the allocation of vaccines to PCTs who manage vaccine distribution centres. Simple and effective, it provides PCTs with a 'command and control' facility to collaborate and report between other PCTs and distribution centres. Based on standard Microsoft tools, it manages the stocks, distribution and dispensation of vaccines, as well as patient contact and GP liaison using a simple set of electronic forms and workflow. Inexpensive and installed in just a matter of days, Pandemic Manager also includes a suite of clinical dashboards that give healthcare professionals access to critical data for accurate analysis and reporting.

Henderson continued, "Even though the NHS and DoH are working to mitigate risk in the event of a pandemic outbreak in the UK we are already seeing great interest in Pandemic Manager from PCTs. Those PCTs that were first to be affected by avian flu last time round especially appreciate the very real issues at hand."

GfK NOP interviewed by telephone 1001 adults aged 16+ across the UK 12th-14th June. The data was weighted to bring it in line with national profiles.

Notes

Results available by region, gender, social class, marital status and working status. 52% believe that a breakdown or delay in communication between NHS departments, the DoH or other healthcare agencies in the UK would allow a pandemic to spread unnecessarily and slow the effective distribution of vaccines. In Scotland it is 58%. The north, 42%. North West, 50%. Yorkshire & Humberside, 48%. East Midlands, 43%. Wales, 46%. Anglia, 38%. West Midlands, 55%. South West, 56%. London, 56%. South East, 54%. Northern Ireland, 60%.

44% have concerns about the NHS/DoH ability to control a pandemic. In Scotland that is 44%. North, 35%. North West, 43%. Yorkshire & Humberside, 40%. East Midlands 39%. Wales, 52%. Anglia, 38%. West Midlands, 40%. South West, 51%. London, 54%. South East, 44%. Northern Ireland, 34%.

About 21C

21C provides NHS Business Intelligence Portals based upon the Microsoft Business Intelligence software stack, best practice data warehouse design methodologies and most importantly an extensive health sector experience. The company demystifies business intelligence by delivering solutions, packaged or through consultancy engagements that connect health care professionals with their data and enable them to access information in way best suited to them. 21C's solution provides PCTs with access to performance KPIs, operational or clinical dashboards or direct access to data using analytical tools. For further information see http://www.21c.it.

Source
21C