It is less than a month since the Government launched the National Pandemic Flu Service and already it is the victim of criticism and complaint. These range from it being too easy to mislead call handlers and obtain anti-viral medicines whether you need them or not, to doctors claiming operators are advising low-risk groups to have treatment, contradicting the advice given to GPs. Medics are even more concerned that other serious conditions are being missed.
The Government felt it had no choice but to get the flu helpline running to take some of the pressure off the NHS and allow doctors to focus on the most ill. It has certainly reduced the number of patients calling or visiting their GP for a flu diagnosis.
But was it really a good idea to have the phone lines manned by people with no medical knowledge to offer advice and authorise access to powerful Tamiflu? All they are given is between a few hours and a day’s training on using the call-centre system and make decisions using an onscreen triage format.
People who get in touch with the service are asked a few simple questions to see if they have the bug. They just have to say they have a high temperature plus two other symptoms, including a headache, a blocked or runny nose, a cough or a sore throat and the antiviral medicine is authorised. Tick the right boxes and you can have the drug. Is this really the right way to diagnose illness?
Then there is the cloak-and-dagger journey to get the drugs. Your “flu friend” is given a secret code, which he or she has to take to a given address with proof of your identity and theirs. In return, the pills are handed over – in a plain brown envelope, perhaps.
Who is ringing the hotline or logging onto the flu website? As yet, there has been no audit of the type of caller. How many of tehm are the worried well? Recently, there was a story in the newspapers of a man who obtained Tamiflu via the flu helpline and sold it on eBay at a vast profit. Even if callers really have flu, is it really a good idea to hand out the drugs like sweets? For the vast majority of sufferers, a few days in bed making sure to drink plenty of fluids and perhaps paracetamol for the fever is all that is needed.
The National Pandemic Flu Line has been hailed as a unique service of which we should be proud. But was it really needed or is it just a sop to the public to show the Government is doing something positive? More than 150,000 people were given Tamiflu through the National Pandemic Flu Service in its first week. How many of them really needed it? And how much is it costing?
The current economic climate means that the NHS is already being threatened with seriously reduced budgets. Despite running a surplus of around £1.35 billion this financial year, NHS finances are likely to deteriorate dramatically. The NHS faces an “unprecedented £15 billion shortfall” as it is forced to get to grips with the “most severe contraction in finances it is ever likely to face”, according to the NHS Confederation.
The financial strain on the NHS caused by the swine flu pandemic is overwhelming. Doctors and nurses have been deluged with patients. NHS Direct has seen its calls rise to four times the normal winter levels, when demand on the service is at its highest. Primary care trusts are diverting resources to cope with the upsurge in flu patients.
There is no denying that swine flu is spreading rapidly and that it can be a very serious condition. But we must keep things in perspective. It is a strain of flu – a common viral illness that affects thousands of people every winter and kills some of them. The difference is that this outbreak has occurred in the summer months, which is very unusual, and seems to be affecting many more young people than seasonal flu. One of the main reasons for this is that it is highly infectious. According to the Government’s Chief Medical Officer, the number of cases in under 14-year-olds has dropped in the past week – which is probably something to do with the schools being on summer holiday and children no longer in such close proximity to one another.
Thankfully, despite the speedy spread, the disease is not getting any more serious. For most of us, it is a mild illness resulting in three or four days feeling absolutely dreadful.
The swine flu outbreak will certainly get worse this autumn, which is to be expected as that is the traditional start of the flu season. By then, the Government expects a vaccine to be available which will be given to the elderly and vulnerable people at high risk, along with the seasonal flu jab they are always offered.
The vaccine is to be welcomed. It is a more cost effective way of spending scarce NHS funds than handing out antiviral medication. In July, at the beginning of the pandemic when swine flu panic was at its height, there were a handful of cases diagnosed at my daughter’s university. All students who had been in contact with the flu cases were given Tamiflu – hundreds of them. Repeat this all over the country and the bill will be hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The increasing financial burden of swine flu will continue to divert much-needed resources away from other patients. Do we really need a flu helpline to add to the vast expense this illness is costing?
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