The Health Protection Agency (HPA)/NHS Direct weekly syndromic surveillance bulletin provides essential information about national and local rises in seasonal illnesses to help the NHS with its day-to-day planning. The bulletin is distributed weekly through national, regional and local Public Health Networks, by NHS Direct Regional Teams and is also available on the internet.
Over the last ten years, NHS Direct and HPA have developed this unique national syndromic surveillance system. In addition to monitoring seasonal illnesses, it also provides support both locally and nationally when there is a health scare or local incident such as flooding or flu.
NHS Direct provides the HPA with data on our calls, which they use to track symptoms associated with seasonal illnesses such as flu and norovirus against a pre-determinded base line. In the case of norovirus, if call volumes for vomiting exceed 4% of the overall call volume 2 weeks in a row, this triggers a 4 week warning of increased national activity.
When dealing with more unpredictable health scares or incidents, surveillance can provide important insights about the impact on the local or national population. This can often be used to reassure the public and avoid widespread panic. At the initial stages of the swine flu pandemic, surveillance of NHS Direct’s flu-related calls (alongside GP monitoring) provided a clear and accurate real-time picture of the situation. This information influenced the national response and quickly identified ‘hot spots’, helping with the local management of flu.
For more information about the Health Protection Agency/NHS Direct weekly syndromic surveillance bulletin, please contact your NHS Direct Regional Director.
