Health Dept ‘failed’ to protect against swine flu (Australia)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/29/2610916.htm
“The ordinary flu this year is expected to be a bad year, so that worse than usual, coupled with the swine flu, will mean there will be intense pressure on emergency departments and other admittance areas.
“The people who work in there deserve, and indeed are entitled to get the very, very maximum level of protection that’s available, and at the moment that’s not being done.”
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/02/content_11641660.htm
China:
Relatives of dead A/H1N1 flu patient smash hospital
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-02 20:28:30 Print
HANGZHOU, July 2 (Xinhua) — Angry relatives of an A/H1N1 flu patient who died “accidentally” Wednesday in east China’s Zhejiang Province stormed the hospital where she died as they suspected electric shock caused her death.
More than 20 of the patient’s relatives rushed into the No. 1 People’s Hospital of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou city, where the patient had been staying, and smashed the hall next to the gate and an ambulance with rocks. Glasses from the hall and flower terrace in front of the hospital were destroyed and the ambulance damaged.
The 34-year-old woman was found dead at 7:35 a.m. Wednesday in her ward lavatory at the No. 1 People’s Hospital of Xiaoshan District in Hangzhou, the provincial capital, according to the Hangzhou municipal health bureau.
Local police and health authorities are still investigating the cause.
The patient was recovering as her temperature had been normal for a week. She coughed occasionally, but other flu symptoms had disappeared.
She was admitted to the hospital on June 23.
DoH urges GPs to make phone swine flu diagnoses
02-Jul-09
GPs should look to make a diagnosis of swine flu over the phone because the UK is moving to the treatment phase.
The move comes after the number of cases of swine flu doubled in a week. Currently, there are 7,447 confirmed cases of the virus in the UK.
If a GP decides a patient is presenting with symptoms of swine flu, they should now issue the patient with a voucher for antivirals. A family member or a ‘flu friend’ should then collect the antivirals from the collection point, such as a pharmacy.
Speaking at a briefing in central London today, health secretary Andy Burnham said that GPs should prioritise antivirals for at-risk patients, such as pregnant women, children under five and elderly patients over the age of 65.
Mr Burnham added that GPs were coping extremely well with the outbreak, and that the flu hotline was very close to launching.
‘This will help to take some of the pressure off GPs, he said.