Oldham can cope with pig flu, says health chief

SWINE flu is on the increase in Oldham, but health bosses say they have an action plan and services will cope.

Oldham’s Public Health Director, Alan Higgins, gave the assurance, saying he expected the number of cases to increase daily, and the best way for people to protect themselves was through good hygiene.

He said it was crucial that people with symptoms stayed indoors and did not go to their GP surgery, nor to the accident and emergency department or the walk-in centre.

There are no official figures for the number of suspected cases, and health bosses are remaining tight-lipped about the number of doses of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu so far given out in Oldham.

Counting stopped when the number of cases hit one in 100 nationally three weeks ago.

But Mr Higgins said there were fewer cases in the North-West than in other parts of England and Wales.

Catching a cough or sneeze in a tissue then throwing it away and washing the hands was the best way to prevent its spread.

And he said it was important that anyone who experiences a sudden onset of fever — with a temperature above 38C, a cough or shortness of breath, should stay at home and seek immediate telephone advice from their GP during the day, Oldham’s out-of-hours service Go To Doc, NHS Direct on 0845 4647, or the swine flu information line on 0800 1513 513 or at www.nhs.uk.

A bank of nurses trained to recognise the signs of swine flu has been set up to answer calls at Go To Doc, and health bosses are poised to add more Tamiflu collection points in Oldham.

Mr Higgins said: “We have stocks of Tamiflu for different groups such as pregnant women and children.

“I am confident that the plans we have in place - which include managing staff sickness absence to keep services going — mean we will be able to cope.”

Mr Higgins added: “As pressure grows we will bring in additional services.”