Life-saving Covid oxygen readers making a difference in Kent
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Updated: 12:36, 03 February 2021
Hundreds of lives could be saved with oxygen pulse readers that have been rolled out across the county amid fears of a hidden symptom of coronavirus.
A trait of Covid known as silent hypoxia can leave a person feeling relatively well, despite blood oxygen levels dropping to dangerous levels. To track this, the NHS in Kent have distributed 5,000 small devices called pulse oximeters.
Silent hypoxia can leave a person feeling relatively well, despite blood oxygen levels dropping to dangerous levels. Stock picture: iStock image
The devices are placed on a person s finger and used to measure blood oxygen levels. Any severe Covid cases can be identified early and referred to hospital.
GPs are warning of growing chaos after NHS chiefs urged millions of healthy middle-aged people to demand flu jabs in the middle of the Covid crisis.
They said switchboards have collapsed under the weight of calls from those who received a letter from health chiefs telling them to come forward now even though flu levels are very low.
The latest figures for England suggest that more than 13 million people – including around 1.7 million healthy people aged 50 to 64 – have received the flu jab this winter. Meanwhile, just 2.5 million people have received a Covid jab against targets for 15 million to get one by next month.
Heron Medical Practice in Herne Bay bombarded with 4,000 calls in one day
Published: 06:00, 14 January 2021
A medical practice was bombarded with almost 4,000 calls in one day from patients trying to secure coronavirus and flu jabs, bosses have revealed.
Receptionists from Heron Medical Practice in Herne Bay were inundated with more than five inquiries a minute last Friday.
Heron Medical Practice s business manager Helen Sutton
Its business manager Helen Sutton fears many residents gave up trying to speak to their doctors on the day.
She said: âThere were so many trying to get through at the same time that it blocked the whole system.
GPs begin offering Covid vaccine at nine sites across Kent
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Updated: 11:59, 17 December 2020
Nine sites are opening across Kent and Medway from today so GPs can start to deliver the Covid vaccine as cases of the virus continue to rise.
The centres, which will provide doses of the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine, will be the first to open in the county, with more locations due to be announced in the coming weeks.
It has been a huge logistical challenge with GP surgeries working around the clock to make sure everything is in place to be able to welcome the most vulnerable patients.