Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts
Monday 30th January 2023

(1 year, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Andrew Bridgen Portrait Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Ind)
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The Secretary of State told the House that the NHS was put under pressure with a spike in influenza cases in December. Will he say where he thinks that influenza virus has been hiding for two and a half years?

Steve Barclay Portrait Steve Barclay
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I do not think it has been hiding. Flu seasons are not uncommon in the NHS and come round on a periodic basis, and that is why we anticipated it through the flu vaccine. On the hon. Gentleman’s wider point, it is also recognised that as a consequence of covid some resistance to flu may have been lowered, but we have had flu pressures on the NHS in past years.