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Winter bugs put pressure on DGH
AMBULANCES in Eastbourne and the DGH have been overloaded with patients this December following a surge in winter sickness.
The number of people making 999 calls in the town rose to more than 2,500 between December 1 and December 28, up 8.4 per cent on last year.
One staff member at South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMB), speaking to the Herald anonymously, said ambulances had waited outside the Eastbourne hospital for as long as two-and-a-half hours in December waiting for the person in the back to be found a bed.
Meanwhile, the A&E department at the DGH had an unexpected spike in admissions of 10 per cent during the same period, up from 6,690 patients in 2007 to 7,364.
A spokesman for East Sussex Hospitals Trust said a number of those coming in were suffering from secondary infections following flu or chest conditions because of the cold weather.
However, the usual scourges of the festive period — flu and the so-called winter vomiting virus — were no more widespread than last year, doctors said. The Health Protection Agency reported that Sussex flu had risen to 'normal seasonal levels'.
Dr Robert Deery, a partner at Arlington Road Medical Practice, said, "Whenever we have an increase in ordinary coughs and colds, people start to think they have got flu and then it gets over-reported.
"Across the country there have been reports of increased cases of flu but in Eastbourne it is not very much different to other years."
There had been two outbreaks of diarrhoea and vomiting, thought to be caused by 'winter vomiting disease' Norovirus, at the Majestic and Burlington hotels in Eastbourne in November and December, but a spokeswoman at the Health Protection Agency said it had not begun investigating any others over the Christmas period.
In contrast to other hospitals around the country, the DGH was not forced to close any wards due to the highly contagious, airborne bug.
The increase in 999 calls, a spokesman for SECAMB said, was reflected across the country but the public are urged to call an ambulance or visit A&E only in a medical emergency, telephoning the NHS Direct helpline for more minor complaints.
Those with flu are advised to catch coughs and sneezes in tissues and dispose of them immediately to prevent germs spreading.
victoria.allen@trbeckett.co.uk
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Weather for Eastbourne
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
