27 August 2009
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals is to help the government’s response to Swine Flu after being selected to be part of a special research project.
The first port of call for anyone with flu like symptoms is to contact their GP or the national flu line. The new research only affects those people who are then referred to hospital and may need admitting.
The research team will be led by Steve Goodacre, Honorary Consultant and Professor of Emergency at the Northern General Hospital and they will look at whether simple measurements of patient’s symptoms can help to reliably predict whether they need to be admitted.
The team will take simple measurements that are taken from all patients with possible Swine Flu and then examine hospital records over the next 30 days to find out what happens to patients.
The research, which is being funded by the Department of Health and carried out by the University of Sheffield’s School of Health and Related Research, will also involve patients attending Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital
Everyone attending the Northern General Hospital or Sheffield Children’s Hospital with suspected Swine Flu will be included in the project, but anyone who does not want their records used in the research can opt out without it affecting their care.
Professor Steve Goodacre, who is leading the research in Sheffield, said: "In a serious flu outbreak we will need to quickly and accurately identify which patients need hospital treatment and which patients can be safely cared for at home. This research will help doctors to provide appropriate care at what could be a very busy time for the health service."
The research is one of a series of projects which has been fast tracked by The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on behalf of the Department of Health to provide vital clinical and scientific evidence to the Government.