NHS in North West: How hospitals are getting ready to cope this winter

‘Flu is the big one’ warns head of nursingpublished at 10:57 GMT

10:57 GMT

Mat Trewern
BBC Radio Manchester

I’m at Wythenshawe Hospital in South Manchester, which is a
leading centre for heart and lung transplants, treating patients across the
North West and beyond.

Fun fact – surgeons here carried out the hospital’s
first heart transplant back in 1987.

On a chilly morning, the main out-patients department here
at Wythenshawe is quickly coming to life. The early morning cleaners have been
through, getting the unit ready for another day.

Patients are arriving for
their appointments, many asking staff for directions to find exactly where in
the hospital they need to be. And the out-patients café is open, with nurses
and patients queuing for their coffee and snacks.

Paul Joynson-Robbins, the hospital’s director of nursing
told me they had a “really busy” day yesterday.

“We had more than 400 patients come through our Accident
& Emergency Department for treatment.”

“But the big one we’re preparing for this winter is flu. We
have a very active flu campaign, vaccinating our staff and the vulnerable
patients in our care.”

Catch up on all the latest at BBC Radio Manchester.