Hospitals advise staff and visitors to wear masks

A trust that runs four hospitals in Sussex has advised staff and visitors with respiratory issues to wear masks in clinical areas to halt the spread of flu.

The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust runs sites in Brighton, Chichester, Worthing and Haywards Heath.

As of Monday morning it said it was treating 115 patients with flu, with new cases arriving.

National data showed more than 5,000 people being treated for flu in hospitals across England in the last week of 2024.

Pat Cattini, director of infection prevention and control at the trust, told BBC Radio Sussex: "We're advising patients with respiratory symptoms to put masks on.

"We're advising staff who are dealing with respiratory patients, especially on the front line, to wear a mask.

"We're, of course, promoting hand hygiene because surfaces get contaminated with flu virus."

East Surrey Hospital in Redhill declared a critical incident on 2 January due to pressure on its services, with all visitors to clinical areas also required to wear masks.

Ms Cattini also appealed for people to stay away from hospitals altogether unless absolutely necessary.

"People have symptoms who don't need medical attention, we would prefer them to ring NHS 111 or consult with their GP," she said.

"It is definitely higher numbers than we've seen over quite a few years, in my experience."

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