Health bosses have been slammed for trying to keep secret details of swine flu deaths across the region.
MPs and patient groups have blasted the gag which stops local health trusts revealing the number of victims, and the area they are from.
It comes as the region bears the brunt of this winter’s outbreak, with at least 12 deaths in Greater Manchester and Macclesfield, out of 50 nationally.
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The region was one of the first places where health chiefs cancelled operations in order to double the number of critical care beds for patients seriously ill with swine flu.
Now bosses at NHS North West have banned health trusts from providing information on deaths from flu, including the H1N1 virus. They say data may be incomplete and therefore difficult to interpret – so they only want national figures released.
Comment: Swine flu 'gag' will only add to public's concern
But MPs and patient representatives say the move will create suspicion and panic.
John Leech, Lib Dem MP for Manchester Withington said:"I can’t see why they would want to do that unless the figures are bad in comparison with the rest of the country. When organisations take this kind of approach it can make people suspicious and lowers confidence."
Hazel Blears, MP for Salford and Eccles, had already criticised Salford health bosses for refusing to give details of swine flu deaths since Christmas.
She said: "It is always important to give the public accurate and precise information then people can take their own decisions and public usually make very sensible decisions."
Last year, NHS North West gave out regular updates on swine flu, including deaths, but have so far refused to do this.
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An NHS North West spokeswoman said: "It is important to emphasise that this data is likely to be incomplete because of the methods use to identify cases. For this reason, the Department of Health has taken the decision not to break these figures down on a regional or sub-regional level as they would be difficult to interpret.
"Any death is a great loss to family members and friends – and our priority has to be to give them the support they need at a difficult time and protect their right to confidentiality."
But Barbara Allen from health watchdog the Patients Council said: "All information of this kind should be made public."
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Could I suggest to Mr Leech that what really makes people suspicious and and lowers confidence are politicians who before an election promise not to increase VAT, not to increase tuition fees, not to immediately slash public spending,to abolish hospital car pariking charges etc etc and then do the exact opposite when elected.
And how many have died from 'normal' seasonal flu in that time?
Bearing in mind the usual annual death toll from seasonal flu is 3500 in this country alone (i.e. around 10 per day) this story smacks yet again of gutter-press scaremongering.
OK - you get the official death rate released. Then what?
These type of story/headlines only worry and scare.
The only thing that concerns me is the lack of vaccine as reported.
Sounds like the NHS are being sensible by trying to keep the worried well away and preventing the whole system being clogged up by them.
what is this country coming to ?
STOP THESE STORYS THERE WILL ALWAYS BE FLU AND THIS IS PUTTING PEOPLE AT RISK BECAUSE MANY GENUINELY ILL PEOPLE CANNOT BE TREATED DUE TO THE PANIC THESE STORYS CAUSE.last year and this year i was sick and tired of hearing from friends how they had had this ,been treated for this etc when really they just had a flu or cold,it costs millions and it costs lives,why not invetigate how many deaths have been caused because of the press handling of these storys.YOU MAY BE SHOCKED TO FIND MANY MORE PEOPLE HAVE DIED OF OTHER ILLNESS BECAUSE THEIR TREATMENT WAS DELAYED BY THE PANIC YOU HAVE CAUSED.
Unless, of course, there haven't been any more than normal and they are covering up
I'd rather know the accurate national death rate than a potentially inaccurate local one. Total non-story - we all know flu is around and yes, swine flu hasn't gone away (it got me just before xmas). Your feature on the hard work being done at Wythenshawe Hospital was far more useful and relevant. Stop clogging up people's desks with FOI requests and crack on with some proper news.
What difference would it make to anyone if the figures were published? are the MP's listed in this article in posession of some master plan of evacution or extra medical resource if they are high?
Leave the medical profession alone to do what they do instead of publishing statistics for a bunch of no mark politicians who will jump on any bandwagon to get their name/face in the press.
50's hardly any thing though.
"An NHS North West spokeswoman said: "It is important to emphasise that this data is likely to be incomplete because of the methods use to identify cases."
How about this for a method: Whenever someone dies from swine flue add one to the total, then you will know how many died. Simples.
Are you going to report my information on this site and are you going to look at the comments I have made,ie:you could look on line for the information at nutritional vitality.
They have to find the death figures otherwise they will be exposed for not doing their job properly!!
Please could write a report on how the N.H.S Doesn't treat people for certain illnesses and use the information to make people aware of the differances between seeing a private dietition and a N.H.S dietition and why I was not given the right advice by the N.H.S or pointed in the right direction.
Thank you Kevin Cairns
Classic NHS photo accompanies the article: one working while four stand in the background gassing. Probably another three nurses on the desk eating chips and gravy and a couple of cleaners and auxiliaries nipped out for a fag. Shut down the NHS - it doesn't work.
For a comprehensive discussion elucidating facts and managing the known data around this severe wave of Infuenza, please visit FluTrackers.com, an open forum drawing people from all walks of life into collaboration on serious world health issues.
Several threads are in progress, including a news aggregator of the media reports and a discussion / analysis of the recently published genetic sequences relating to genetic divergence in this current wave.
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=386359#post386359
"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum." - Noam Chomsky
In 1918 the 'Spanish' 'flu epidemic approximately 250,000 people died in Great Britain and Ireland out of a total population of 45 million. This equates to 5,500 mortalities per million.
The current population of Great Britain and Ireland is estimated at 61 million. This equates
to a mortality rate of less than one person in a million.
The media has become the mindless, scare-mongering, servant of the state.
"Any death is a great loss to family members and friends – and our priority has to be to give them the support they need at a difficult time and protect their right to confidentiality."
I personally know of two very tragic deaths from swine flu over the Xmas period. The families, far from wanting confidentiality, are screaming out to tell the world to watch and to learn and to have a swine flu jab so other people need not die as their loved ones did.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't