HAMPSHIRE doctors have developed a revolutionary way to rapidly diagnose flu and speed up treatments.

The new technique which reduces the need for antibiotics and the time patients spend in hospital has been developed by doctors in Southampton.

Patients in hospital emergency departments and acute medical units can be tested immediately with the use of an absorbent pad which will then be processed on a portable device.

Results can be delivered within an hour instead of days.

The new test was developed by Dr Tristan Clark, a consultant in infectious diseases at University Hospital Southampton (UHS), and staff at the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.

Dr Clark said: “My vision is that anyone who comes into hospital with an acute respiratory condition will receive this point-of-care test as soon as they come through the hospital door.

“It tells us immediately what virus the person has so, for example, if they have flu they can be isolated in a side room and given antiviral drugs without delay.”

The test can also reduce the unnecessary or ineffective use of medication.

The system was trialled in a study at UHS during the winters of 2015 and 2016 which involved 720 patients with acute respiratory illness including pneumonia.

Half the patients undertook the new test while the other half received standard care.

Results showed that patients who had the new test got the right treatment sooner.

The test came to prominence during the winter of 2015 when doctors at Southampton General Hospital found that a large proportion of patients with respiratory illnesses were suffering from a strain of influenza not covered by the seasonal flu vaccine.