Swine flu help service going live

12 April 2012

A national swine flu service which aims to speed up access to drugs for thousands of infected people is going live.

The Government's National Flu Pandemic Service, which can be accessed using the telephone and internet, will be staffed by more than 1,500 people.

It is being launched to help relieve mounting pressure on the frontline NHS, and will come amid what is expected to be a jump in the UK's swine flu death toll - currently standing at 31 - as new figures showing the number of people contacting their GP and dying from the disease are released.

Although 1,500 workers will initially staff the national flu service - which will only cover England - another 500 people are ready to be brought in if needed.

They will have a checklist of symptoms, allowing them to diagnose callers and give out a numbered code enabling people to get Tamiflu anti-viral medicine.

More serious cases such as pregnant women, people with other health conditions and very young children will still all be referred to GPs.

Members of the public will also be able to use a website to fill in the checklist and get access to the voucher number.

The free-phone number will only be operational during the day at the start of the service, but the Department of Health said it will be able to operate 24 hours a day if needed.

Details of the website address and helpline number have yet to be released.

The launch of the service was announced last week after a dramatic rise in calls and consultations piled pressure on GPs and hospitals.

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