Pandemic (Swine) Flu

[jonbxx]

Originally Posted by joglynne

..and another site, which has been updated recently to take in all the current thinking.

http://www.nct.org.uk/info-centre/information/view-117

Just read that link - genius idea to put a child with a temperature in a sling. That will keep them cool.....

[Pia]

Lol i thought the same when i read that.

[joglynne]

Very dodgy advise, and surprising considering the organisation behind the site is the National Childbirth Trust.

[Tezcatlipoca]

"GPs fear swine flu misdiagnosis"

Originally Posted by The Guardian

Denis Campbell
The Guardian, Wednesday 5 August 2009

Almost nine out of 10 GPs fear people with serious conditions such as tonsillitis, bronchitis and meningitis could be wrongly diagnosed as having swine flu by the new telephone helpline.

In a survey of 251 family doctors, 87% said that diagnosing swine flu over the phone did mean that other diseases may be missed. The findings raise questions about the National Pandemic Flu Service, which handles half of all calls with an operator, and the other half via its website.

In comments to GP newspaper, which ran today's poll, one GP said: "Saw a case today of measles which was diagnosed over the phone as swine flu." Another said: "Patients are making up symptoms in order to get Tamiflu and for example meningitis or tonsillitis or bronchitis/pneumonia may be missed."

Another GP said he had seen two cases of tonsillitis and a knee infection who were prescribed Tamiflu over the phone.

(snip)

[Russ]

I'm starting to get tired of this media horse**** about the helpline.

We do NOT diagnose people as having swine flu or any kind of condition.

We ask a series of questions and judging from the answers that callers give, our systems decide if they would benefit from antiviral treatment. Nothing more.

[Pia]

Lol did they seriously just put tonsillitis in with meningitis when talking about serious illnesses?

Originally Posted by Pia

Lol did they seriously just put tonsillitis in with meningitis when talking about serious illnesses?

it depends how you react to it some people it can be a nasty infection but you are right not quite same league lol

[Pia]

I get it really bad, now and again, and i know it's no walk in the park, but honestly

[nffc]

Apparently a 13 year old boy from Bristol was sent home from school with a temperature/aches and they rang for help and was told it was suspected SF and got Tamiflu for him but he still had temperature and stuff, and his mum insisted it wasn't SF and took him to hospital... turns out he had a kidney infection and spent 6 days in hospital and could have died.

This paranoia about SF is meaning stuff is getting misdiagnosed - it's not the fault of the web or the people in the call centres but so many things but sf can have those symptoms and they're presuming it is and giving antivirals... Maybe they should actually be following up these suspected cases with GPs or something to make sure it isn't like meningitis, or something. Someone will die soon - thankfully it wasn't that kid because his mum had enough sense to make sure he got looked at properly.

I think the swine flu call centre should be advisory only and not in anyway sending out medication it should be a case of call give what symptoms you have if any and then be advised whether you should contact your local surgery. Sorry Russ i am not questioning you or others at the centre but i don't believe this is the best way to effectively treat swine flu or the handing out of tamiflu as people will lie and for these poor sods in that call centre they have no way to tell yet will get slammed in the media it isn't fair to them or to people that may have it.

[nffc]

I don't think most people need tamiflu anyway. It's only a mild illness, in most cases, and you don't normally have antivirals with normal flu.

Plus the side-effects and potential resistance of flu to tamiflu mean really we shouldn't be using it normally.

[joglynne]

It may not be the best way but I don't like the alternatives that I have been able to come up with.

Have all the people who are thought to have Swine Flu going into the GP surgeries or A & E?....... Even if I ignore the risks to other member of the general public of having people suffering with SW coming into a surgery or hospital, what about the staff and Doctors they could infect and put out of action?

Have the GPs visit all the identified cases in their own homes? ......I doubt many practices have the spare GP capacity to cope with the increased home visits that would entail.

Have Doctors answering the phones...How would my GP cope with the increase of calls and would I be willing, or in any position, to wait to see him whilst he dealt with all the calls.

Even if we had enough Doctors to staff special centers how would a Doctor know that he was being told the truth when the symptoms of the SF are so widely known and the Doctor would have to err on the safe side? I don't imagine that they would have to follow a script so just how long would each phone consultation have to be to cover all bases? I doubt whether we would be able to have less Doctors answering the phones than the numbers of non-medically trained people being currently used.

I accept that there will be cases that are wrongly identified as Swine Flu, and I do think that certain at risk groups should be seen by a Doctor, but I understood that the scripts the centers use do attempt to identify these people and refer them to their Doctors.

What other ways could so many people be dealt with? I hope that the current effects of the flu continues to be relatively mild for most people but that could change at any time and at least this way we have something in place that can be honed to cope over the next few months.

[nffc]

Do flu cases *really* need diagnosing in most cases though? I mean, most people just go to bed and look after themselves. I have when I've had it in the past.

[joglynne]

Originally Posted by nffc

Do flu cases *really* need diagnosing in most cases though? I mean, most people just go to bed and look after themselves. I have when I've had it in the past.

But that's the whole point of the phone in centers. The staff do not make a diagnosis they only ask a set of questions, the answers to which dictate whether or not, the medically accepted treatment, Tamiflu, should be released. Whether you agree that Tamiflu is effective or necessary is irrelevant. It is the currently accepted way of dealing with the illness. You are neither forced to contact a center nor are you expected to take any antiviral medication if you feel it is the wrong way to cope with your illness.

My son is still recovering. He is a fit, healthy 28 year old who rarely even has a head cold. He tried to ride it out, but was so poorly he eventually gave in and used the online National Pandemic Flu Service. He has stated to use the tamiflu and is at last improving. <big sigh of relief>

Did he actually need to take the tamiflu? I don't know but the next alternative would have been to ask his GP to make a home visit and he was relieved not have to do so.

[Russ]

Makes you wonder if there's something of a placebo effect going on with the treatment. I'm not saying it's ineffective (far from it) but if people think it's "the cure" then they might convince themselves that they're improving.