King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is bracing itself for an expected surge of respiratory illnesses as flu season approaches its peak period.

Wesley Miller, Chief of Staff at the hospital, said the Bermuda’s Hospitals Board had seen an increase in respiratory illnesses, including the flu, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, during November and December

“The rate of increase in respiratory illness currently is in line with what we would expect at this time, as the more serious surges tend to occur in January and February after all the socialising at Christmas and the New Year,” Dr Miller said.

“We are not yet seeing any surges yet, but this can change very quickly, especially as students return from the UK, Canada and US.

“We continue to recommend mask wearing in the hospital, especially for people visiting patients or residents as these infections can be much more serious for our populations at BHB, and ask that people remain protective of those in their families who might be vulnerable to infectious diseases as they socialise in the community over the holidays.”

Dr Miller said that every year the BHB develops a winter plan to address the issue, and that this year’s plan came into effect yesterday.

“The plan includes how we will manage surges coming through the Emergency Department, especially if we are capacity-constrained within the hospital,” he said. “This is not an unusual experience for the winter months, and something that hospitals in countries such as the UK and US also struggle with.

“When we do not have available inpatient beds, this causes a backfill in the Emergency Department as people have to wait longer for a bed to be available and consequentially, new patients with minor conditions unfortunately have to wait longer to be seen and assessed by the Emergency team.

“The winter escalation plans have been developed to address this reduction in the immediately available emergency beds and it allows the emergency team to attend to the patients in as timely a manner as is possible.”

Dr Miller said the additional pressure also impacts the BHB’s ability to run the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre in St David’s.

“At the moment it is open on weekends only, and closed on weekday evenings,” he said.

“We would like to once again stress that it really important that people only come to Emergency when needed. About half of Emergency attendances are from people who could have seen their doctors in the community.

“Seeing your GP for regular check-ups and for the management of chronic illnesses is also an important part of staying well and out of the Emergency department, as is driving safely on the roads.

“An accident can have tragic consequences, not just with death but with people who have life-changing injuries or require hospital care, treatment or blood transfusions, so please drive responsibly and never drink and drive. The impact of every crash is felt across families and the healthcare system.”

Dr Miller also urged people not to leave family members in hospital when they can be discharged.

“We have many patients who are medically fit to leave hospital, but need family members to pick them up or make preparations at home,” he said.

“Hospital is not the best place for people who don’t need to be there, especially seniors. This is true at all times, but especially over the Christmas period when they want to be with their families.

“We ask that people are picked up by 11am on their day of discharge. This helps immensely with us preparing beds for people who might come through emergency.

“It can’t be stressed enough how helpful this is to people waiting in the Emergency department or at home for admissions who do need hospital care, and also for others in Emergency Department waiting rooms impacted if beds are filling up.”