Swine Flu Phone Service Revealed

Details of a new swine flu advice service has been outlined today.

The National Pandemic Flu Service will operate in England as the latest move in the fight against swine flu.

The flu line is a phone and internet service that uses a checklist to diagnose whether people may or may not have swine flu and can then give them access to anti-flu drugs if necessary.

From the start, there will be up to 2,000 people manning the call centres, while, by the Autumn, this will be able to be increased to cope with surges in demand.

However, the government is insistent it is fully capable of doing the job it is aimed for in the immediate future - relieving the pressure on GPs.

UK Health Secretary Andy Burnham is outlining his programme to tackle the developing medical crisis amid criticism and government in-fighting which is believed to have delayed its launch.

Amongst others, the Liberal Democrats said government departments' in-fighting led to the hotline being launched six months late.

However, the government said the aim is simply to help relieve the pressure on 'frontline' NHS staff.

Mr Burnham commented today: "Technology to launch the service has been available for some time.

"But with the latest figures and drawing on advice from the field we have now reached a point where this service is required.

"To act any sooner would have been a distraction to health staff dealing with it."

He was speaking in the face of claims of conflicting advice to pregnant women, and also denied that the guidance had changed since the start of the outbreak.

Some reports at the weekend suggested that women should even consider not getting pregnant and those that already are should avoid crowded places.

But Mr Burnham said the official advice was that people should only reconsider unnecessary travel and being in very crowded places.

But he added the advice was "not hard and fast" and said people should use their own judgement and get on with their lives and enjoy the summer.

Twenty-nine people have now died in the UK after contracting swine flu - 26 in England and three in Scotland.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have all decided to stay out of the service as the demands being placed on health staff are not as great.

That is even though Scotland saw the first case of swine flu and had the first death, as the country is not seeing the 'exceptional' levels of demand seen in every region of England apart from the Yorkshire and the Humber.

Some single GP practices in London have actually seen more cases than the whole of Wales or Northern Ireland.

In Wales, there has only been 67 confirmed cases, while Northern Ireland has even fewer.

Also, GPs in all three nations do not tend to have such large patient lists as in England, leaving them more able to cope with fluctuating demand.

Meanwhile, GPs - although warning it needed to be well funded - welcomed the FluLine phone and internet advice proposals.

(BMcC/KMcA)