Syndromic surveillance summary: 28 March 2024 week 12
Updated 25 April 2024
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Reporting week 12: 18 March to 24 March.
During week 12, GP in-hours consultations for upper and lower respiratory tract infections remained stable but still above seasonally expected levels. GP out-of-hours and ED acute respiratory infection indicators also remained stable but above expected levels. ED pneumonia attendances remain stable nationally but above seasonally expected levels, particularly in the 5 to 14 and 15 to 44 years age groups. Syndromic indicators for scarlet fever, measles and whooping cough all remain above expected levels.
Remote health advice syndromic surveillance system
During week 12 there was a continued small increase in NHS 111 cold/flu online assessments. Increases were also observed in NHS 111 calls for eye problems, in line with seasonally expected levels.
Please note that a further update to the NHS Pathways clinical system used by NHS 111 has affected levels of NHS 111 cold/flu and cough calls, particularly calls in children and selected regions. Cold/flu and cough call data presented in this report should therefore currently be interpreted with caution. Please see ‘Notes and Caveats’ for further information.
Access the remote health advice syndromic surveillance bulletins here.
GP in hours syndromic surveillance system
During week 12, GP in-hours consultations for upper and lower respiratory tract infections remained stable but above seasonally expected levels. There was a small decrease in pneumonia consultations overall, however rates remain elevated and above expected levels (particularly in the 5 to14 years age group). Whooping cough consultations increased during week 12 while there was a small decrease observed in measles consultations; both remain above seasonally expected levels.
Access the GP in hours syndromic surveillance bulletins here.
GP out-of-hours syndromic surveillance system
During week 12, GP out-of-hours consultations for acute respiratory infections remained stable and just above expected levels. There was a small increase in contacts for acute bronchitis/ bronchiolitis and also an increase in difficulty breathing/wheeze/asthma contacts in children aged under 1 year.
Access the GP out-of-hours syndromic surveillance bulletins here.
Emergency department syndromic surveillance system
During week 12, ED attendances for acute respiratory infections were stable but they remain above seasonally expected levels, notably in children aged 5 to 14 years. Pneumonia attendances also remained stable nationally but continue to be above seasonally expected levels; pneumonia attendances are still elevated in the 5 to 14 and 15 to 44 years age groups. Scarlet fever attendances were stable overall during week 12 but are still elevated in children aged 1 to 4 and 5 to 14 years and remain above seasonally expected levels.
Access the emergency department syndromic surveillance bulletins here.
Ambulance syndromic surveillance system
During week 12, daily difficulty breathing calls decreased but remain above expected levels.