REVIEWING THE UK PANDEMIC RESPONSE

Dame Deirdre Hine, a former Welsh Chief Medical Officer, will chair the independent review to examine the pandemic response across all four UK nations. Dame Deirdre will report to Ministers with recommendations before the summer parliamentary recess (in any of the four nations of the UK).

Having planned for the event of a pandemic for a number of years, the UK was widely recognised as one of the most prepared countries in the world. Although swine flu continues to be present in the UK, it’s at the lowest level since the virus first appeared. It is now an appropriate time to begin this independent review, which will be crucial in examining how the UK responded.

This review is being conducted as part of the normal procedure following a major emergency event. The findings will be used to inform future planning for pandemics and help ensure that the UK Government’s plans remain robust.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that there have been at least 16,813 deaths from swine flu. There have been 457 reported and confirmed swine flu related deaths across the UK to-date. The UK Government believe that reviewing the response is a crucial step to ensuring the UK remains prepared to deal with potentially more virulent pandemics in the future.

Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham, said:

“I am pleased to announce that Dame Deirdre Hine will Chair an independent review of the UK’s response to the 2009 H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic.

“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.”

The review team will conduct a strategic review of all the key elements of the response including interviews with key individuals involved. However, it will be for Dame Deirdre to determine precisely how she wishes to proceed.