Babysitter army to watch medics' children if swine flu outbreak hits

Published on Saturday 26 September 2009 11:58

LOCAL volunteers and teachers would be recruited to babysit the children of NHS workers as part of swine flu contingency plans being drawn up in the Lothians.

Health chiefs are currently in talks with schools and other centres to investigate the possibility of housing youngsters there while their parents care for H1N1 victims.

The emergency plans, which would be used in a "reasonable worst case scenario" of the bug hitting the Lothians, would allow around 20,000 NHS Lothian workers with young children to work evenings and weekends.

It is one of many possibilities the health board is looking at as part of swine flu contingency plans.

Experts believe the second wave of the infection is nearing, and in order to care for the estimated 30 per cent of the population who could be hit by the virus, the NHS cannot afford for nurses, doctors or even ancillary workers to be at home looking after their children.

It is understood volunteers with disclosure cover would be asked to help babysit children while their parents worked, and they could possibly do this in school class-rooms alongside teachers.

NHS Lothian's vice-chairman Eddie Egan said: "We have asked if we could get NHS Lothian staff's kids to schools. It's a major risk so we are trying to mitigate that. The use of volunteers would also be looked at."

Human resources director Alan Boyter added: "Using a school and teachers could be one of the ways we could circumvent the problem."

Under an all-hands-on-deck scenario, former nurses could be called out of retirement and medical students temporarily promoted to cope with demands.

Recent European Working Time Directive laws from Brussels – which allow hospital workers to put in no more than 48 hours a week – would also be discarded as the situation was brought under control.

Local health chiefs are reasonably confident that the wide range of emergency plans will not be needed, and are adopting a better-safe-than-sorry approach.

NHS Lothian employs 28,000 staff, of whom around 20,000 are thought to be parents of children who would require looking after.

Once estimates of a third of people affected by the bug are factored in, there is sufficient cause for alarm around the area's hospitals.

The health board's director of public health revealed this week how assumptions had been cooled somewhat, and it is now estimated only one per cent of those who contract swine flu would require hospitalisation.

Although education chiefs have previously pledged to keep schools open at all costs, if the bug was to affect a large number of teachers they would be left with no choice but to shut.

This has also been considered by NHS Lothian while planning for staff absence.

It is anticipated the swine flu vaccine will arrive sometime next month, and 55,000 doses a week will be dished out. At-risk people such as asthmatics, pregnant women and others with poor health will be seen to first.

Ms McCallum said: "We have worked very hard across the piece to make sure we meet Scottish Government targets."