Syndromic surveillance summary: 25 August 2022 week 33
Updated 5 January 2023
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Reporting week: 15 August to 21 August 2022
During week 33, national syndromic indicators for ‘impact of heat’ decreased as temperatures returned to seasonally expected levels.
Remote health advice syndromic surveillance system
Please note that during week 33 the number of NHS 111 calls included in this syndromic report are still lower than usual. This is due to a widely publicised cybersecurity incident on 4 August caused by ransomware that affected a NHS 111 clinical software system provider that is used in certain parts of the country. We are working closely with our data providers to restore the daily syndromic feeds. The NHS 111 call data presented in this report should therefore be interpreted with some caution. Assessments of trends and levels for NHS 111 calls are based on the unaffected regions.
During week 33, ‘heat exposure or sunburn’ indicators decreased as temperatures returned to seasonally expected levels. Potential coronavirus (COVID-19) calls and online assessments were stable.
GP in hours syndromic surveillance system
During week 33, GP in-hours consultations for ‘heat or sunstroke’ decreased as temperatures returned to seasonally expected levels. There was an increase in consultations for cellulitis, particularly in adults aged 65 years and older. GP in-hours ‘COVID-19-like’ consultations were stable but there was a slight increase in consultations for diarrhoea.
GP out of hours syndromic surveillance system
Please note that we have not received daily GP out-of-hours contact data from 4 August 2022 onwards due to widely publicised disruption faced by one of the GP out-of-hours clinical software system providers. We have since been informed that this disruption was as a result of a cybersecurity incident caused by ransomware. We are working closely with our data provider to restore the daily syndromic feed. There were no further updates at the time of preparation of this bulletin.
Emergency department syndromic surveillance system
During week 33, emergency department attendances for ‘heat or sunstroke’ decreased as temperatures returned to seasonally expected levels. COVID-19-like attendances continued to decrease across all regions and age groups.
Ambulance syndromic surveillance system
During week 33 ambulance calls for ‘impact of heat or cold’ decreased as temperatures returned to seasonally expected levels.