Doctors urge people to get flu vaccine as number of patients at Southdoc doubles in a week

One doctor said: 'One of the flu strains has mutated but the vaccine is still about 70% effective.' File photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

The number of people attending the Southdoc out-of-hours GP service has doubled in a week as flu continues to spread rapidly.

Dr John Sheehan, a GP in Blackpool in Cork City, called on people to consider getting the flu vaccine, saying it is not too late yet.

“The numbers have increased hugely, the number of people attending Southdoc has doubled in the space of a week,” he said.

“We normally have three doctors on, but we now have seven doctors on in Cork City itself because of the volume.” 

Extra doctors are on duty across the Southdoc network for the holiday period. GPs in many practices are holding extra hours and extra clinics under arrangements with the HSE, he added.

“One of the things we’re seeing particularly in older people is some of them are presenting with normal flu symptoms but a number of older people have confusion. That’s the first symptom they have,” he said.

“We’re also seeing an increased number of children as well, and some of them are quite sick with it.” 

Dr Marie Finn, a GP in Ennis, said the high flu numbers have come earlier than usual but described the pressures as still “predictable”.

She also advised getting the flu vaccine, saying: “One of the flu strains has mutated but the vaccine is still about 70% effective." The vaccine will reduce how severely sick people get with the flu and help them avoid hospitals, she said.

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“The uptake maybe wasn’t as good as we would have liked. What we’re seeing now is primarily younger people with the flu.” 

Older people tend to be “very good at protecting themselves” but she said “for children, the uptake I think is about 20%". 

"They’re the ones who seem to be hit harder this year than other years.” 

She advised: “Make sure you have a supply of paracetamol and fluids, and know how to deal with simple infections. Most things can be managed at home or in primary care, the burden on the hospitals needs to be protected.”