Scotland is using teamwork to tackle swine flu | nursing times

Nicola Sturgeon on how Scotland has responded to swine flu For nearly two months, countries across the globe have been responding to what the World Health Organization has now officially

declared to be a flu pandemic. Prior to April, few people had even heard of ‘swine flu’, as it has been dubbed - let alone its technical name, influenza A (H1N1). Now it is etched on the

public consciousness. Alongside the other healthcare professions, nurses have been putting Scotland’s pandemic plans into action, from strategic planning and coordination to assessing and

caring for patients. They are doing an amazing job, even more so considering that Scotland had the dubious distinction of seeing the first confirmed cases in the UK. The early reports from

Mexico suggested that this virus was the one we had all been fearing since the outbreaks of ‘bird flu’ a few years ago. Media outlets spoke of thousands of victims and a great many deaths.

Inevitably, in an interconnected world, it was known that it would only be a matter of time before this virus spread across the globe. And it has - with the UK, including Scotland, recording

nearly 2,000 cases by mid June. Thankfully, however, the effects of this illness appear not to have been as severe as was first thought. That is not to say that H1N1 is harmless. In

Scotland we know that all too well - the first death from the virus occurred in Paisley on 14 June. Jacqueline Fleming was only 38 but, significantly, had underlying health conditions which

made her more vulnerable to H1N1. Nevertheless, for the majority of people who have contracted the virus but are otherwise in good health, the effects have been mild and comparable to

normal, seasonal flu. But at the start of the outbreak, we could not have known this and furthermore, we have to be prepared for the prospect that the virus could mutate and return in a more

virulent form. Thankfully, Scotland - and the UK as a whole - has been one of the best prepared countries in the world to deal with this pandemic, a fact recognised by the WHO. > ‘What I

 think has had the most impact has been the professional > and coordinated reaction of our healthcare workers. They are doing > an amazing job’ Our meticulous monitoring systems and

excellent pandemic preparations - embodied in our Pandemic Flu Action Plan published in 2007 - have meant we have been able to pursue a containment strategy of tracing the contacts of

confirmed and suspected cases. Experts are already saying this has helped to slow the spread of the virus. But what I think has had the most impact has been the professional and coordinated

reaction of our healthcare workers. Pandemic flu has affected all areas of the health service in Scotland, from NHS24, our dedicated health helpline, to staff working in primary care and

acute hospital services. Nurses, who have been very much on the frontline, have responded swiftly to this challenge. They have consistently reflected the flexibility, responsiveness and

teamworking for which the profession is recognised. However the pandemic progresses over the coming months, nurses at all levels will be crucial to supporting affected patients and families,

as well as maintaining core services. There are ongoing challenges and a need to develop and refresh clinical skills to support our response to the virus. However, I believe the work that

has already been undertaken in Scotland in staff development and education, together with our strong partnership working, mean that we are well placed to meet any increased demand. Already,

scientists here and across the world are working hard to develop a vaccine for this strain of flu and the UK as a whole has pledged to procure enough of this vaccine to protect 100% of the

population. When the vaccine is available we’ll be making sure ‘at risk’ groups are prioritised and that is likely to include frontline healthcare staff. In the meantime, every NHS board in

Scotland, guided by public health advice from Health Protection Scotland, has robust plans in place to protect their staff, including nurses. We are also working closely with our higher

education partners to support healthcare students during the current outbreak, to minimise disruption to their learning and to acknowledge their valued contribution to care. It’s important

to point out, I think, that Scotland’s cases of H1N1 have been relatively localised so far - the bulk have been in the Dunoon area, Paisley and the south side of Glasgow. This has presented

us with the challenge of community transmission, which we are doing everything in our power to prevent and contain. But in the rest of Scotland, cases have been relatively few - a fact that

has sometimes been overlooked by the UK national media. Scotland is still very much ‘open for business’ and visitors are at no greater risk of contracting the virus here than anywhere else.

It’s also worth stressing that this virus is not flying around in the air - you would have to be in close contact with a symptomatic individual to be at significant risk of catching it. This

low risk is borne out by the fact that most so-called ‘possible’ cases - where people have flu-like symptoms - are proving negative for the virus. The Scottish Government, like other UK

administrations, is remaining vigilant. There is no room for complacency when dealing with a novel virus, so we will be maintaining a high level of alert for the foreseeable future. But this

is only possible thanks to the dedication of healthcare workers, who remain our first line of defence. _Nicola Sturgeon is Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being, Scottish Government_