Home flu testing kits could be launched in months after fears 60,000 deaths could leave NHS facing ‘worst winter ever’

HOME flu testing kits could be launched in a matter of months after fears the NHS could face its “worst winter ever”.

Experts have warned to prepare now with fears an estimated 60,000 flu deaths could cripple the health service that has already been struggling with Covid patient numbers.

And it is feared the similarity of the two illnesses could cause chaos by disrupting isolation efforts and delaying treatment of the sick who aren’t sure what they have.

Ministers are concerned flu victims who test negative for Covid will not bother to seek medical care, who could then become seriously ill and add to the pressures on the NHS.

On top of patients suffering from winter illness, there is a huge backlog of five million people waiting for NHS treatment.

Staff shortages, reduced bed capacity due to infection control, and delayed diagnoses of other diseases are also adding to the burden.

Similar to the Covid testing method, a flu test would require a swab of the nose or throat and could produce results within 10-15 minutes.

Each year, up to 25,000 people – mainly the elderly – die from flu, depending on the success of the annual vaccine and the strength of the strains that are spreading.

Yet in January this year, which is usually the height of the flu season, cases dropped to the lowest recorded in 130 years.

FLU CASES COULD SURGE

The dramatic decline took place when Covid had a firm grip on the country and saw docs report only 1.1 infections per 100,000 people.

Compared to the five-year average of 27 cases per 100,000, it sparked worries poorly Brits were not seeking medical advice due to Covid fears.

As well as this, Public Health England sample-testing did not pick up a single flu case in the first seven weeks of the year due to “changes in our behaviour”.

But as Covid restrictions became largely voluntary from July 19, it means other viruses that were suppressed over the past 15 months will start circulating in high numbers again. 

Dr Jenny Harries, of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “Restrictions meant we didn’t see much flu circulating last season.

“We avoided the double threat of flu and Covid which could have had disastrous consequences for individuals and for our health and care system.”

“TRIPLE WHAMMY”

The main concern is a “triple whammy” of Covid, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – which people have typically caught by the age of two.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Witty said “the coming winter may well be quite a difficult one.”

Despite normally only being taken in labs when patients are hospitalised with severe complications, flu tests could become as commonplace as Covid ones.

Health minister Lord Nicholas Bethell said: “The Department is ­exploring potential options to expanding winter virus testing via home or community testing.”

As Brits are now used to shoving stuff up our nose and down our throat, the boss of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee said: “We’re open to having discussions on how this might work.

Simon Dukes, who is in charge of representing all the nation’s 11,400 community chemists, explained: “Free Covid tests from pharmacies have been a huge success and we would be happy to distribute flu tests.”

Experts believe it would be “unlikely” to catch both Covid and flu at the same time, as the body’s immune response would fight off any other virus trying to enter.