Friday 24 July 2009

PM praises “groundbreaking” swine flu service



A self-care service to help people with swine flu symptoms is “breaking new ground”, the Prime Minister has said.

The National Pandemic Flu Service, consisting of a new dedicated website and phone line, allows people to check their symptoms and, if necessary, get a unique number to allow them access to antivirals from a collection point.

* Visit the National Pandemic Flu Service website

Gordon Brown said the service was already working well to help people get advice as he met NHS staff in London today to hear how the capital is dealing with the outbreak.

He said:

“[The National Pandemic Flu Service] is the first in the world. We are breaking new ground here, but we have been preparing for this for more than two years and I think the evidence is that people are responding to the scheme… What I want to do is ensure that people get the best advice, get it as quickly as possible, are able to get the antivirals when they need them and are reassured.”

The Prime Minister added that he hoped the service would take some of the burden off GPs and hospitals, which have been seeing rising numbers of people reporting symptoms, and he praised NHS staff for their response to the outbreak.

He added:

“I don’t know if any health service in the world could do what we have been able to do so quickly as a result of efforts of all the staff.”

Read advice about swine flu from Directgov

Previous story: Government to increase swine flu support

Tags: National Pandemic Flu Service, NHS, swine flu

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