Unnecessary use of Tamiflu
The Buckinghamshire Primary Care Trust today issued a warning against local people using the National Pandemic Flu Service to get hold of Tamiflu unnecessarily.
A dose of Tamiflu will only be issued once to an individual so it should only be used by those suffering genuine symptoms that indicate the likelihood of infection by the H1N1 (swine flu) virus. The set of questions that will be used when assessing people by the National Pandemic Flu Service is designed to identify people who have swine flu rather than a cold or cough.
Callers will be asked a structured set of questions to determine the identity of the caller, their address and whether they have claimed anti-viral medicine before. Verification codes will only be able to be used once, and fabricated codes will be identified. Identities will also be checked at antiviral collection points.
Dr Geoff Payne, Board Member of Buckinghamshire PCT, said: "For the system to work we need everyone to play by the rules and act in a fair and reasonable way, which I have no doubt the vast majority of local people will do. Because you will only be able to obtain one course of antivirals per person, anyone trying to stockpile medication as a 'just in case measure' or taking antivirals when they don't actually have swine flu, may find it trickier to get hold of the drug if they do become genuinely ill."
More information
There is a new dedicated website and 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.
See also advice on Swine flu on this website.