A&E departments ‘overwhelmed’ by children with mild fever, creating ‘winter in June’ for the NHS | UK News

A&E hospital wards are “overwhelmed” with children brought in with often nothing more than a mild fever, experts said.

The increase creates a ‘winter in June’ for the NHS and three royal colleges have issued new guidelines for parents, after seeing a sharp increase in the number of people seeking emergency help for conditions that are not COVID -19.

As the lockdown eases, more children mix and come in contact with viruses typically seen during the winter months.

These include a range of respiratory infections, bronchiolitis, para-influenza, and rhinoviruses, all of which produce symptoms of cough, runny nose, and fever.

The Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said conditions are generally mild, but heard from emergency doctors across the country that there has been a sharp increase in the number of children brought in by anxious parents. .

Dr Camilla Kingdon, president of RCPCH, said many parents had not seen a fever in their children, especially those born during the lockdown.

“Many emergency departments are currently overwhelmed and there has been a particularly sharp increase in the number of young children presenting,” said Dr Kingdon.

“Some have seen the highest number of children ever on their ward and the wait times can be enormous.

“The biggest increase we’re seeing is in children with mild fever. Fevers are very common in young children and are usually not severe.

“But many parents have never seen a fever in their child before and are worried, especially if they don’t have their usual sources of support to turn to, such as parent groups.”

An emergency pediatrician described the situation as “winter in June”, with data from four hospitals showing attendance in May of people aged 15 and under fell from 15,954 in 2018 to 23,661 this year, an increase of 48.3%.

Dr. Dan Magnus, a …