Managers quietly confident as NHS battles swine flu pandemic

But respondents complained form-filling for national and regional planners was a distraction from frontline work.

There is also concern the seriousness of swine flu for both individuals and the NHS is being exaggerated.

Forty-six per cent of the 1,475 staff who completed the survey thought their organisation was dealing successfully with the extra flow of patients - only 14 per cent thought it was not.

Confidence in organisations’ performance was significantly higher among managers than clinicians. All staff had more confidence in their own organisations’ preparedness than in the NHS as a whole.

But on organisations’ readiness for surges in demand later in the outbreak, the average rating was 5.5, where 1 was not at all confident and 10 was extremely confident.

More than half (54 per cent) said they had received useful guidance from the government.

West Midlands public health director Rashmi Shukla said although her region was one of the first hotspots, services were coping well. Very little work had been cancelled and the region was “not anywhere near” setting aside waiting time targets.

She told HSJ: “We have been planning for pandemic flu for several years.”

North East London has also seen hugely increased demand.

Homerton University Hospital foundation trust medical director John Coakley said: “We are coping because we have planned for a much greater incidence and virulence than the current pandemic.” Swine flu should be no more of a problem for the NHS than winter flu, he said.

Dr Coakley added staff needed to focus without being distracted by requests for monitoring information.

Acute trusts are expected to update strategic health authorities each morning on how they are coping and on numbers of swine flu patients as well as reviewing pandemic flu plans.

Heart of England foundation trust accident and emergency consultant Anthony Bleetman said his trust had coped well with up to 100 additional patients daily. It has created a separate stream in its A&E department, rewritten rotas and cancelled a small amount of elective work.

But Dr Bleetman said staff had faced conflicting demands for information, which had included a three-page questionnaire for each swine flu patient.

He said: “It was not something we could possibly do. We need the people giving advice to understand the reality in which we are working. Some of the directives coming down can’t necessarily be implemented.”

Only 19 per cent of respondents said their organisation had begun detailed preparation for an immunisation programme. Confidence there would be adequate vaccine supplies was 4.8 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Dr Shukla said NHS West Midlands and primary care trusts could not create detailed plans until the government identified priority groups over the coming weeks.

Health secretary Andy Burnham told HSJ he wanted to “put on record” that he shared the service’s optimism about preparedness levels: “I would say people should have confidence, individually and collectively.

“I will work hard - it is obviously a fast moving situation - to make sure people have the right support from the centre.”

NHS chief executive David Nicholson said: “I want to thank NHS staff for their continued hard work and support in responding to the early stages of the pandemic. Despite being well prepared, there is no room for complacency.”

NHS Confederation deputy policy director Jo Webber said managers may be reluctant to downplay swine flu risk in case things got worse.

HSJ will continue to track NHS staff confidence as the pandemic progresses.