THE number of patients fighting for their lives in intensive care with suspected swine flu has fallen dramatically, say health chiefs.

There were 15 people in intensive care units at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch displaying ‘flu-like symptoms’ last week, but there are now only three at the Royal and one at the Alex.

Numbers of patients displaying flu-like symptoms across Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has also fallen from 58 last week to 27 patients.

A trust spokesman said: “The situation is improving and the trust is operating normally. The staff are coping well.”

There have been 10 drop-in clinics and 300 pregnant women have been vaccinated against seasonal flu (including swine flu).

Experts from organisations including NHS Worcestershire, Worcestershire County Council and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, met on Thursday for a strategic outbreak control team meeting to discuss continued management of flu.

Dr Rashmi Shukla, regional director of public health in the West Midlands, said: “Flu levels are difficult to predict but we are cautiously optimistic that levels may be reaching their peak.

“Flu is still circulating, and vaccination is still the best form of protection for those who are most at risk of infection to seasonal flu.”