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 Dame Deirdre Hine, a former Welsh Chief Medical Officer, will chair the independent review to examine the pandemic response across all four UK countries. Dame Deirdre will report to Ministers with recommendations before the summer parliamentary recesses.
Although swine flu continues to be present in the UK, it’s at the lowest level since the virus first appeared, the government feels that now is an appropriate time to begin this independent review, “which will be crucial in examining how the UK responded”.
The findings will be used to inform future planning for pandemics and help ensure that the UK government’s plans remain robust.
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.
•Date: 26th March 2010 • Region: UK •Type: Article •Topic: Pandemic planning
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