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Swine Flu killing the healthy as 140,000 diagnosed last week
Anna Davis and Mark Prigg23 Jul 2009
Healthy people in Britain have been killed by swine flu, the Government admitted today.
New figures reveal that up to 140,000 people have been diagnosed with the virus in the past seven days. Of those 840 patients are described as “seriously ill” and 63 are being treated in intensive care.
As public concern over the disease grew, a government website crashed within seconds of it being launched today.
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said 16 per cent of the fully-investigated swine flu deaths were healthy people, meaning up to four healthy people may have died. He refused to give the exact number because of patient confidentiality.
“This is an encouraging figure because the minority of deaths were healthy people and the numbers are still very small,” said Sir Liam. “The bad thing would be if 100 per cent of the deaths were healthy people. The vast majority of people, even with an underlying condition, will get the flu and recover well.”
Twenty-six people have died with swine flu since the outbreak began, but Sir Liam said not all those deaths had been fully investigated. In all 26 cases the death certificate recorded swine flu as the cause of death or a major contributory THE Government's swine flu service will be launched today, allowing millions of people to bypass their doctors and diagnose themselves with the disease.
It has been set up to ease pressure on GPs overwhelmed by the swine flu crisis, which has claimed 31 lives in Britain.
The National Pandemic Flu Service will consist of a phone line and website. The phone helpline will initially operate for 15 hours a day, handling up to 200,000 calls, and the online service should be available 24 hours a day.
Call centre staff will take callers through a computerised questionnaire to check symptoms. If it is suspected they have swine flu, callers will be given a unique reference number, allowing them to pick up anti-viral drugs from the otherwise secret locations.
The sufferer will then send a “flu buddy” to pick up the drugs, who will have to present ID for the patient and the reference number when they collect the medication.
However, The Department of Health has admitted the system is open to abuse from callers. It is feared many will simply claim to have swine flu symptoms amid fears that the Government's supply of anti-viral drugs could run out.
Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said it was a price worth paying to help the NHS cope with its “biggest challenge in a generation”.
Pick-up points for the drugs have been forced to set up security to protect supplies of Tamiflu and Relenza, the two anti-viral drugs being used by the Government. Security teams have been drafted in, and distribution points are set to be replenished overnight to reduce the amount of the anti-viral drugs kept on site.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday that the service was designed to free up GPs' time. He said: “We have been preparing for a pandemic for a number of years. The NHS is continuing to cope well, but as swine flu cases have started to increase, we have needed to give anti-virals more quickly.”
Under contingency plans, non-emergency operations can be cancelled, while doctors can be moved around the health service to help flu hotspots cope. The launch comes as a poll of 1,500 NHS staff by the Health Service Journal and Nursing Times showed 14 per cent did not think their organisation was coping successfully with the pressure.
Dr Richard Vautrey, of the British Medical Association, which helped design the service's checklist, said: “Some GP practices are receiving hundreds of calls a day and we have to prioritise so we can see the most seriously ill. As long as the call handlers get the correct training we can be confident in this service.”
The Government has ordered up to 132 million doses of swine flu vaccine from GSK and another company, Baxter, in contracts worth £155.4 million over four years. The vaccine will not be available until September.
Education chiefs were also today considering radical plans to teach pupils from home, via virtual online lessons. Cobra, the emergency committee, is drawing up plans to use technology so that children's education is not disrupted by school shut-downs.
NHS posters and information leaflets will be printed with the new swine flu phone number and website address.
Reader views (26)
Looks like we're all going to die—but not today!
- Drew Byrne, London, England., 10/08/2009 15:07
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Here are some facts,flu kills healthy people every year. Also even in a quiet year flu kills 6,000 people in the UK mostly in the 6months from October till March thats a 1,000 people killed by flu for them six months even in the quietest flu years. So far we have had approx 30 deaths in 3months. So if anyone from this paper reads this can you please tell me why 30 deaths from this years flu are so more newsworthy than the 1,000 deaths a month for last years flu because you certainly never covered the flu like this last year. Am i missing something here ?
- Dean, London England, 23/07/2009 21:13
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Whats swine Flu, have i missed something?
- Bri, Wiltshire, 23/07/2009 17:52
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How many of theses 140,000 people have been tested for Swine Flu? Answer 0 to a few.
If you phone up the NHS helpline or go (or get a friend) to a GP and complain of flu like symptoms it's getting classed as SF.
- Mark, South-East London, 23/07/2009 17:08
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"Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday that “We have been preparing for a pandemic for a number of years"."
BUT
"As public concern over the disease grew, a government website crashed within seconds of it being launched today".
How typical of this totally incompetent Government.
Remember when the HMRC system crashed on the last day before tax returns had to be filed. This crew have significant 'previous form' on such incompetence - I should have put some money on this site falling over!!
- Malcolm, London, 23/07/2009 17:08
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It seems that life is now imitating art. Earlier this year the BBC ran a new version of the 1970's series Survivor where 90% of the world's population is wiped out by a flu pandemic. According to the BBC they are making a new series. No doubt based on real events. The only question remains will there be anyone left to watch it and pay the TV license?
- Adam, Harrow, UK, 23/07/2009 16:56
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4 previously healthy die from 250,000 cases, whilst clearly very sad for these believed these stats indicate that Swine Flu must be one of the mildest ever. Less than a thousand deaths in a year. If this is correct there will need to be an inquiry into what the hell the fuss is about. The Government has already started to underline their "its mild" story. The BBC and the press need to take note and start looking more carefully at the real stats - or carry on looking stupid.
- Billg, Gerrards Cross, 23/07/2009 16:56
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- Dina, London: "We should all be happy that the government is doing something to help the public".
Oh, should we, Dina? Should we really?
I have seen some stupid statements on this website in my time but that one really takes the biscuit! What the hell else do you think the Government is there for but to help the public? Silly woman!
- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx, 23/07/2009 16:38
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Did wonder how Government was going to bring the burqa into mainstream society as a necessity, and not as a fashion statement.
- William, Hay~Heath UK, 23/07/2009 16:21
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You Brits are always ready to complain about everything, and also mistrusting each other. We should all be happy that the government is doing something to help the public. If you don't believe in the hotline then it should not bother you. I think it is a great initiative. Do you have a better one in mind?
- Dina, London, 23/07/2009 15:32
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The Pandemic Flu website has crashed. The DoH cannot even get that right. At least its not a call centre in Asia.
- Brent, London, UK, 23/07/2009 15:29
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I am beginning to wonder if this has been exagerated in order to make Brown look big and as though he is coping with the panic. remember foot and mouth a couple of years ago and the flooding it all starts off like this then when people start phoning it falls apart if people phone up and say they are not well they can give the symptons of swine flu but they may not have it all because they want a few days off work. I also noticed what is being reported the GP Michael Day on Sky News they reported that swine flu was responsible for his death even though he had serious underlying conditions yet on ITV Anglia News it was reported that he had died of a blood clot on the lung. so make your own mind up just be careful
- Jacqui Williams, peterborough cambs, 23/07/2009 15:29
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As soon as this thing started i just knew that this country would be useless at containing it, we seem to be useless at most things these days, National Helpline, too little too late, as usual.
- Tom, Notts, 23/07/2009 15:07
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LOL, diagnose yourself? Yeah, then we really will start the hysteria all over the Nation. Remember the actual "Flu" still exists and this is what MOST people contact, as only a small percentage of the population has ACTUALLY contracted this so called "Swine" flu.
- Dirk Diggler, Soho, London, 23/07/2009 14:51
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I am happy to diagnose myself with pig flu when I want to pull a sickie but what will the self diagnosis autopsy show when I die of smallpox?
- Bj, London, 23/07/2009 13:58
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Isn't it remarkable how easily spooked the English are when newspapers broadcast phoney stories about flu? The truth is that you're more likely to die from their vaccine than from their bioengineered flu virus. Just ignore the mainstream propaganda and you'll be fine.
- Neil, London, London UK, 23/07/2009 13:30
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What was that then.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23683241-details/Swine+flu+hotline+open+on+Thursday/article.do
- K Soni, London, 23/07/2009 13:13
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Dear Mr. Prigg. How unfortunate, you didn't even mention the hotline number in your article. It is 0800 1 513 513
- K Soni, London, 23/07/2009 13:09
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Isn't it a bit irresponsible to let people diagnose themselves with swine flu? I wonder how many people will take tamiflu or similar medication when in fact they only suffer from a bad cold. As a result they might become immune to drugs which they may need at a a later stage when they really suffer from flu. Personally, whenever I've had a bad cold during the summer, I felt a a lot worse than in the colder months. I'm convinced that the numbers published are incorrect because not all people were properly tested. Call me irresponsible, but I will take my family to London as I do every year, in late August.
- Caterine, Germany, 23/07/2009 13:06
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Considering I had some very nasty side effects after taking medication prescribed by a pharmacist after mis-diagnosis I cannot see how they can staff this with people dragged in off the streets!
- Man U Fan, London, 23/07/2009 13:00
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At least it's a UK line and not outsourced 
' ... no sir please you don't take the tummyflu...'
- Sanjay, Hounslow, UK, 23/07/2009 12:56
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I give that ten minutes before meltdown then.
- Squiz, Islington, 23/07/2009 11:41
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If Paulo saw the "round the block" queue of applicants to be employed by the National Pandemic Flu Service shown in video on TV News on 23rd July and the subsequent interview the PNFS will be like most call centres following a prescribed script and if the caller does not understand the vocabulary or the accent, because the people are otherwise untrained, they are not allowed to deviate. When choosing a flu buddy it is unclear what form of ID for the patient and the form of ID for the buddy will need to be provided. A bit like trying to open a bank account - there is going to be some frustrated people about
- Donald Smith, London, 23/07/2009 11:22
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Paulo - the staff are beiong recruited directly from companies like Teleperformance UK, which normally handle calls for Sainbury's online, the Home Office ID and Passport Service and a number of customer service and debt collection lines. You don't honestly think that anyone medically qualified would be involved, do you?
- Alistair, London, 23/07/2009 11:21
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so what's the number?!?!
- Suzanne, london uk, 23/07/2009 11:03
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And where are all these staff coming from to run the flu centres? From other parts of the NHS. So if your physiotherapy session gets cancelled at short notice, you'll find your physio dispensing Tamiflu down the health centre!
- Paulo Uccello, London, UK, 23/07/2009 08:26
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