Syndromic surveillance summary: 19 October 2023 week 41
Updated 4 January 2024
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Reporting week 41: 9 October to 15 October 2023
During week 41, emergency department (ED) COVID-19-like attendances decreased nationally and NHS 111 calls and online assessments for ‘potential COVID-19’ stabilised. Overall, acute respiratory infection syndromic indicators increased in children aged under one year, and children aged one to 4 years. ED acute bronchiolitis attendances continued to increase in children aged under one year, and children aged one to 4 years, in line with expected seasonal trends.
Remote health advice syndromic surveillance system
During week 41, syndromic respiratory indicators including NHS 111 calls for cough, cold and flu, and difficulty breathing increased in children aged under one year, and children aged one to 4 years, in line with seasonally expected activity. ‘Potential COVID-19’ NHS 111 calls and assessments remained stable during week 41.
Access the remote health advice syndromic surveillance bulletins on GOV.UK
GP in-hours syndromic surveillance system
During week 41, GP in-hours consultations for upper respiratory tract and lower respiratory tract infections continued to increase in line with seasonally expected trends, particularly in children aged under one year, and children aged one to 4 years. Consultations for influenza-like illness were stable and at baseline levels during week 41.
Please note, from week commencing 30 October (week 43 bulletin) we will be incorporating an additional GP data source (Oxford and Royal College of General Practitioners Clinical Informatics Digital Hub (ORCHID)) to provide improved system practice and population coverage.
Access the GP in-hours syndromic surveillance bulletins on GOV.UK
GP out of hours syndromic surveillance system
Daily GP out-of-hours contact data was not received from 4 August 2022 until 31 March 2023 due to technical problems. We have been working closely with our data provider and the daily syndromic feed recommenced on 1 April 2023. We are currently evaluating the daily data received and will resume publication of the weekly bulletin when this process is complete.
Access the GP out-of-hours syndromic surveillance bulletins on GOV.UK
Emergency department syndromic surveillance system
During week 41, emergency department COVID-19-like attendances decreased nationally. Acute respiratory infection attendances remained stable overall, however further increases were observed in the group of children aged under one year, and the group of children aged one to 4 years. Acute bronchiolitis attendances continued to increase in the group of children aged under one year, and the group of children aged one to 4 years in line with seasonal expectations.
Access the emergency department syndromic surveillance bulletins on GOV.UK
Ambulance syndromic surveillance system
During week 41, daily ambulance calls for difficulty breathing increased nationally and remain above baseline levels. Calls for ‘impact of heat or cold’ also increased during week 41 but overall, they remain just below levels expected for the time of year.
Access the ambulance syndromic surveillance bulletins on GOV.UK