Rising number of patients presenting with flu, Covid and concerns about Strep A, says nursing boss

There has been an extremely high demand across the health services due to the rising numbers of patients presenting with flu and Covid-19, and also parents of young children contacting NHS services about scarlet fever.

Scarlet fever, or ‘Strep A’, is caused by bacteria called group A streptococci (strep), and most infections are mild and easily treated but are very infectious.

Look out for symptoms in your child, which include a sore throat, headache, and fever, along with a fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel. On darker skin the rash can be more difficult to detect visually but will have a sandpapery feel.

Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you suspect your child has scarlet fever, because early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of complications. If your child has scarlet fever, keep them at home until at least 24 hours after the start of antibiotic treatment to avoid spreading the infection to others.

There are lots of viruses that cause sore throats, colds and coughs circulating. These should resolve without medical intervention. However, children can on occasion develop a bacterial infection on top of a virus and that can make them more unwell.To learn more about symptoms to look out for, when to seek medical help and what to do in an emergency visit the NHS website (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/strep-a/).

Most importantly, as a parent, if you feel that your child seems seriously unwell, you should trust your own judgment.

We’re currently recruiting for 40 Enhanced Care Support Workers within the Trust, which is a fantastic opportunity for anyone wanting to start a career in the NHS or try something different.

The new role will involve providing one-to-one patient care and support in our hospitals, helping to improve their wellbeing during their stay with us.

There will be a comprehensive training programme and ongoing support provided, as well as flexible working options to help you maintain a work-life balance.

Experience of working within a hospital setting is not essential for this role, so if you are a caring and compassionate individual then we’d love to hear from you. For more information about this role, or to view other vacancies, please visit our jobs site - www.jobs.sath.nhs.uk

Our Maternity team and the Maternity Voices Partnership Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin are inviting former and current service users to complete a survey to provide feedback on their experiences of care and healthy pregnancy services.

The teams would like to hear from service users who have had diabetes in pregnancy, a BMI of over 30, or who have smoked during pregnancy about their experiences of maternity care and the services available to support them.

The feedback received will then be used to shape the planning and prioritisation of changes around healthy pregnancy services, which is the next theme of our UX System. The UX System captures the feedback of those whose voices matter the most and focuses on a number of different key areas and themes to shape developments in our Maternity Services. To fill in the survey, please visit: https://bit.ly/3htKZIq