Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

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.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.healthplace.2011.06.005

Type

Journal article

Journal

Health Place

Publication Date

07/2012

Volume

18

Pages

737 - 745

Keywords

Civil Defense, Conflict (Psychology), Federal Government, Forecasting, Health Policy, Humans, Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype, Influenza, Human, Interinstitutional Relations, Local Government, Models, Theoretical, Policy Making, Politics, Public Health, Public Health Administration, Time Factors, United Kingdom