Syndromic surveillance summary: 9 March 2023 week 9
Updated 4 January 2024
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Reporting week 9: 27 February to 5 March 2023
Across all syndromic surveillance systems, acute respiratory indicator activity either decreased or remained stable during week 9. GP in-hours consultations and emergency department (ED) attendances for scarlet fever were stable during week 9, with activity at expected levels for GP in-hours consultations and above for ED attendances.
Remote health advice syndromic surveillance system
During week 9, NHS 111 calls for cold and flu, sore throat and ‘potential COVID-19’ decreased nationally while calls in adults aged over 65 years stabilised after increasing over recent weeks. NHS 111 calls and online assessments for diarrhoea and vomiting were stable or decreasing during week 9.
Access the remote health advice syndromic surveillance bulletins on GOV.UK
GP in-hours syndromic surveillance system
During week 9, GP in-hours consultation rates for upper and lower respiratory tract infections decreased while influenza-like illness remained stable. Scarlet fever consultations also remained stable and similar to seasonally expected levels.
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 from 4 August 2022 onwards has not been received due to a 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.
Access the GP out-of-hours syndromic surveillance bulletins on GOV.UK
Emergency department syndromic surveillance system
‘COVID-19-like’ ED attendances remained stable nationally during week 9, but there was a further small increase in those aged over 65 years and attendances increased in the West Midlands and East of England. Gastroenteritis attendances increased overall but there was a small decrease observed in those aged over 65 years. During week 9, ED attendances for scarlet fever were stable but remained above seasonally expected levels.
Access the emergency department syndromic surveillance bulletins on GOV.UK
Ambulance syndromic surveillance system
Ambulance calls for difficulty breathing remained stable overall during week 9. Calls for ‘overdose or ingestion or poisoning’ have slowly increased during recent weeks; however, call levels remain similar to the baseline and the increase is in line with the seasonally expected trend for the time of year.
Access the ambulance syndromic surveillance bulletins on GOV.UK