The national medical director for NHS England said his staff are preparing for more infections (Picture: PA)
A top health chief has warned it is ‘going to be tough winter’ with more infections returning the way Strep A has.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis said the UK should prepare for a difficult few months with the return of the flu and other viruses.
The national medical director for NHS England stressed that this is ‘the first winter in a few years that we will have seen flu again’.
On top of all of this, the NHS also has to deal with the backlog from Covid, he added.
He said: ‘We are seeing other infections coming back – Group A streptococcus is in the news at the moment but RSV, another virus that affects children, has been circulating.
‘And we’re seeing all these infections a bit out of their usual pattern, a bit out of their usual season, because we haven’t seen them over the last few years because of the measures that have been in place to reduce the transmission of Covid.
‘So we are getting a lot of infections back and we’re getting them at times that we wouldn’t necessarily expect them, but we’ve planned for that, we’ve expected it and our staff are working hard to manage it’.
At least nine children have now died from Strep A in the UK this winter so far (Picture: Getty)
Professor Sir Stephen was knighted on Wednesday for his service to the NHS (Picture: PA)
Professor Sir Stephen made the comments on Wednesday, after receiving his knighthood from the Prince of Wales.
He was knighted for his services to the NHS, particularly during the pandemic.
He said: ‘It’s a real honour to get this award, of course for everybody in the NHS it’s been the toughest three years of our professional careers.
‘And I think clearly this is a personal award but I think it also reflects the magnificent work NHS colleagues, staff across the country, whether they’re nurses, doctors, paramedics, porters, lab technicians.
‘I think everybody pulled together magnificently during the pandemic and really responded to the greatest healthcare emergency of certainly our generation and probably the last 100 years.’
‘It’s still an incredibly tough time in the NHS and I’m really conscious my colleagues have worked flat out for three years and they’re continuing to work flat out.’
At least nine children have now died from Strep A in the UK this winter so far, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
The UKHSA said there has been a rise in the rare invasive form of the infection, which is usually mild.
Health experts have suggested Covid-19 lockdowns may be to blame for the dramatic rise.
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A top health chief said this year is ‘undoubtedly going to see a tough winter’.
