Afternoon:
10°c
Schools
Schools with cases of swine flu are still taking advice from their local Health Protection Unit. The advice will generally be to remain open, unless there are specific local reasons to close, for example special schools for children with complex medical conditions. Parents are being told to keep their children at home if they have flu-like symptoms, and should call the Swine Flu Information Line or their GP. Children who have no symptoms should attend school.
Hospitals
Hospitals have been told to prepare response plans flexible enough to deal with the range of possible swine flu case rates. Up to four per cent of those who are symptomatic may require hospital admission, while up to 25 per cent of hospital admissions will require critical care. At the peak of a pandemic, demand will exceed normal healthcare capacity. The Government suggests hospital admissions could increase by up to 440 new cases per 100,000 of population per week.
Paramedics
Ambulance staff are at the frontline in trying to minimise the spread of the virus, by only transporting patients who are critically ill. If the ambulance service receives calls from people with flu symptoms they are referred to NHS Direct, and will be referred to the national pandemic flu service when it is launched. John Pooley, head of emergency planning at London Ambulance Service, told the Standard: "We have seen an increase in calls from people with flu-like symptoms, although numbers generally are low." Paramedics could be some of the first people to get the vaccine at the end of next month, before a wider immunisation programme, due to start at the end of the year.
Transport
Transport bosses have said they will ensure trains, airports and bus services will continue to function even in the event of staff shortages. Transport for London has satisfied business continuity experts by saying it would be able to run a reduced Tube service that would suffice because there would be fewer passengers. TfL has also worked on plans for providing staff with antiviral drugs.
Government
The Government has been planning for an influenza pandemic for three years and is now implementing the latest stage of its Flu Pandemic Response Plan. It has set up the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (Cobra) where committees are meeting regularly to manage authorities' response to the pandemic. A special “flu team”at the Department of Health is devising who will be first to receive the vaccine when it becomes available in August. Frontline medical staff are likely to receive the first wave of vaccinations to help deal with the likely increase in severity of the outbreak this autumn.
Reader views (2)
After having phoned NHS DIRECT which was too busy to answer my call about my young stepson , we were given a recorded message to ring a swine flu help line SUPRISE SUPRISE the system was overloaded , so we took the poor youngster to the local accident and emergency.
LOOKS LIKE THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED ALREADY (YET AGAIN).
god help us if this so called "epidemic" gets any worse .
BRING OUT YER DEAD ( and i kid ye not)
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE GOVERNMENTS PLAN TO DEAL WITH AN OUTBREAK.
i know 4 people that have been diagnosed with this virus already.
STOP TELLING ME NOT TO PANIC
- Mr Pastry, london, 14/07/2009 14:55
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STILL AS CLEAR AS MUD.
If I contract Swine Flu I need to firstly telephone my doctor (I am unable to use a telephone).
My doctor would then refer me to an NHS clinic 6 miles away (I do not have any form of transport).
It now transpires that the local NHS clinic will refer my concerns to yet another body secreted in the tombs beneath Whitehall.
All this sounds about right for the gaggle of muppets in Government.
MEANWHILE I DROP DEAD.
- Reuben Camara, Republic of Morecambe, UK, 14/07/2009 11:37
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