Strep A alert as NHS crisis 'puts children at risk of deadly bugs'

THE NHS crisis is putting children at greater risk of deadly infections such as Strep A, experts warn.

- Lucy Johnston and Damien Edgar

At least six children have died from the winter bug which is circulating at “unusually high levels”.

And experts fear that children with potentially deadly infections are not accessing timely care as the NHS crisis has left emergency services overstretched and face-to-face GP appointments more difficult.

Professor Carl Heneghan, director of Oxford University’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, who also works as an out-of-hours GP, said: “These infections are easily treatable with antibiotics.

“If a child has symptoms of Strep A they need to be seen face-to-face, not over the phone. Some of the symptoms are hard to distinguish between other problems.