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    Reflections on the UK's approach to the 2009 swine flu pandemic: conflicts between national government and the local management of the public health response

    Chambers, J. and Barker, Kezia and Rouse, A. (2012) Reflections on the UK's approach to the 2009 swine flu pandemic: conflicts between national government and the local management of the public health response. Health & Place 18 (4), pp. 737-745. ISSN 1353-8292.

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    Abstract

    The first cases of swine flu in the UK were detected on 27th April 2009. Two weeks later Birmingham became a “hotspot” for the HIN1 pandemic in England. This paper describes the experiences of local public health agencies during the pandemic and the problems encountered when trying to work within a hierarchical and hermetic system of national policy making. We argue that over reliance on the speculative logic of modellers, together with a failure to adapt swiftly the nation's preparedness plans and public health apparatus created in readiness for a serious and fatal disease, led to an institutional void of policy making during the pandemic, where new rules and concepts emerged about what constituted scientifically acceptable and politically legitimate interventions. The imposition of a single national approach to managing the pandemic and a disregard for the role of local authorities seriously impaired the ability of local agencies to respond in a flexible, timely and pragmatic way to the rapidly emerging situation. Future planning for pandemics must recognise that global epidemics are curbed at the local level, and ensure that any response is proportionate, flexible and effective.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Swine flu, H1N1, Pandemic, Birmingham, Public health, Security
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 11 Jun 2012 08:34
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 16:57
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/4784

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