PANIC over Strep A infections has put extra pressure on local health services, resulting in GP surgeries not having enough appointments to meet demand in the town.

Some GP appointments are being postponed until the new year to free up capacity.

As reported nationally, infections from Strep A and scarlet fever have risen in recent weeks, with at least 16 children having died from invasive Strep A infections in the UK.

READ MORE: Basingstoke mum's warning to parents after daughter suffered invasive group A strep

Strep A infections normally cause a mild illness such as sore throats or skin infections but in rare cases can infect the lungs and bloodstream, leading to serious or life-threatening symptoms.

Some GP surgeries in Basingstoke have reported an increase in demand caused by concerns over Strep A. 

A message sent to patients at Crown Heights Medical Centre said that non-urgent appointments will be postponed to free up capacity.

It added: “The local health system is under pressure due to concerns about strep A infections. This has resulted in the surgery, 111 and out of hours [services] facing more demand for appointments than the system can provide.

“We have been asked to free up capacity by postponing non-urgent appointments to meet the rise in urgent demand.”

GPs will be offering non-urgent appointments for dates in the new year.

The Camrose, Gillies and Hackwood Partnership in Brighton Hill said it is also experiencing an “understandable surge in demand for our services due to the increase in Strep A cases”.

A message on its website said: “This may mean that some non-urgent requests may be booked with a small delay whilst we prioritise more appointments for children and the most vulnerable.”

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Shakespeare Road Medical Practice, in Popley, published a statement on its website regarding the diagnosis and management of Strep A with advice issued to the practice. 

It said: “Many discussions have taken place over the last few days about how best to support general practice to respond to this unprecedented level of paediatric demand."

It added: “We understand that you may reach the decision that to meet urgent demand you may need to cancel routine care appointments.”

It also shared a podcast, created by Dorset GP Dr Andy Purbrick, joint chief executive of Wessex Local Medical Committees, and Dr Sanjay Patel, paediatric infectious diseases and immunology consultant at Southampton Children's Hospital, to “help you if you are feeling uncertain about who we should be treating and at what threshold” or for those “confused about the myriad of information that has been put out around this”

The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on scarlet fever and group A Strep infections shows that among one to four-year-olds, there were 2.3 infections per 100,000 of the population, up from 0.5 in the three years leading up to the Covid pandemic.

Dr Colin Brown, deputy director of UKHSA, said: “Scarlet fever and ‘strep throat’ are common childhood illnesses that can be treated easily with antibiotics. Please visit NHS.UK, contact 111 online or your GP surgery if your child has symptoms of this infection so they can be assessed for treatment.

“Very rarely, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause more serious illness called invasive group A strep. We know that this is concerning for parents, but I want to stress that while we are seeing an increase in cases in children, this remains very uncommon.”

He advised talking to a health professional if a child is getting worse after a bout of scarlet fever, a sore throat or respiratory infection, with signs to look out for including a fever that won’t go down, dehydration, extreme tiredness and difficulty breathing.