Government websites with official information about swine
flu
Latest NHS swine flu briefing
Update on activity
Health services across the North of Tyne continue to be very
busy. GP practices have seen an increase in activity and the GP out
of hours service is dealing with about twice as many people as it
would expect to at this time of year and staff who are working in
the antiviral centres have been issuing between 5-600 antivirals a
day.
We now have four antiviral centres up and running – Newcastle,
Hexham, Blyth and Shiremoor and expect to have a centre in Berwick
by early next week. Numbers attending the centres are being closely
monitored and more will be opened as necessary.
New national service
A new self-care service which will give people with pandemic
swine flu symptoms fast access to antivirals has been launched by
Health Secretary Andy Burnham.
phoneline (0800 1 513 100 or 0800 1 513 200
(Textphone))
for people to check their symptoms and get a unique number which
will give them access to antivirals if necessary.
How to collect antivirals
People who have swine flu symptoms will be given a unique access
number and told where their nearest antiviral collection point is.
They should then ask a flu friend – a friend or relative who
doesn’t have swine flu – to go and pick up their antivirals.
The flu friend must show their own ID as well as that of the
patient. The authorisation number and ID information will be
checked to ensure it matches the information provided when the
assessment of symptoms was completed.
Advice for the public
Anyone who suspects they have swine flu is advised not to go to
their GP or A&E.
People should contact their doctor direct rather than using the
National Pandemic Flu Service if:
- they have a serious underlying illness;
- they are pregnant;
- they have a sick child under one year old;
- their condition suddenly gets much worse; or
- if their condition is still getting worse after seven days
(five for a child).
For the vast majority of people, swine flu has been mild. Some
people find that they get better by staying in bed, drinking plenty
of water and taking over the counter flu medication.
As swine flu spreads, it is important to be able to recognise
its symptoms. People who have two of the following symptoms and a
temperature of 38° C and above or feels hot may have swine flu.
The typical symptoms are:
• sudden fever (a high body temperature of 38C/100.4F or above),
and
• sudden cough.
Other symptoms may include:
• headache,
• tiredness,
• chills,
• aching muscles,
• limb or joint pain,
• diarrhoea or stomach upset,
• sore throat,
• runny nose,
• sneezing,
• loss of appetite.
We can all help reduce the spread of infection by following
basic hygiene rules; cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when
you sneeze or cough, dispose of the tissue immediately and then
wash your hands thoroughly. In short – catch it, bin it, kill
it.
Further information
Further information, including questions and answers, is
available by calling the
National Pandemic Flu Service information line on 0800 1
513 513.
Futher information can be found at the following websites
http://www.nhs.uk/
www.nhs.uk/conditions/pandemic-flu
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/pages/Symptoms.aspx
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/QA.aspx
www.nhs.uk/news/2009/04April/Pages/Swineflulatest.aspx
- NHS swine flu – other languages
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/Otherlanguages.aspx
- For business information on swine flu go to Business Link
https://www.gov.uk/
