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A surge of swine flu cases has left the NHS swamped with calls - causing struggling bosses to adopt an "outbreak management" policy, it emerged today.
Cases in London and the West Midlands will now be clinically diagnosed rather than being confirmed by laboratory results in an effort to contain the spread.
The new policy means swabbing will take place only for a small number of cases to keep track of the strength of the virus. Doctors will also use the drug Tamiflu more selectively.
On Monday and Tuesday this week NHS Direct received more than 6,500 calls from people worried they had the virus. Callers hear a recorded message saying the service is only dealing with emergency cases.
A spokeswoman said people should check swine flu symptoms online before calling, and warned that anyone with non-urgent calls faced a longer wait before being dealt with.
She said: "People who have flu-like symptoms and are concerned are advised to stay at home and if possible check their symptoms on the symptom checker on www.nhs.uk."
She added that if people were still concerned they should call the swine flu information line on 0800 1 513 513. Only as a last resort should people go to their GPs or NHS Direct.
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said many parts of the country were still in the containment phase.
But he warned there could be "tens of thousands of cases" each week by the autumn because the virus is more likely to thrive in the colder months. Sir Liam said: "We still think we are heading for the largest surge of cases in the autumn and winter."
So far, 3,597 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the UK but the true figure is thought to be higher.
