Review of the swine flu pandemic to be held

A year on from the start of the swine flu panic, an independent review of how the UK responded to the crisis has just been announced.

Chaired by former Welsh Chief Medical Officer Dame Deirdre Hine, the review is taking place as part of official procedures following a ‘major emergency event’.

The report’s findings will help the Government to plan for future pandemics.

New cases of swine flu continue to emerge in the UK, but the numbers are at their lowest level since the start of the pandemic.

The World Health Organisation estimates there have been a minimum of 16, 813 deaths globally from swine flu.

In the UK alone, there have been 457 confirmed swine flu related deaths.

Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham, said:”Almost a year ago, the world began waking up to a new flu virus that rapidly became a pandemic. The UK was fortunate to have well established plans in place to deal with it.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express the Government’s thanks to all involved in the response, especially to staff in the NHS who have dealt with millions of patients and families affected. I would also like to express my sympathies to those families who have lost loved ones.

“It is important that we look back at the lessons learnt through the review so that the UK remains one of the best prepared countries in the world, and so that we can improve our plans for any future event.”