HEALTH chiefs have praised Warrington people for their response to the on-going swine flu pandemic.
NHS Warrington’s chief executive Andrew Burgess thanked people for their response to the crisis, and said the number of swine flu cases in the town is falling.
He said: “The response from local people has been tremendous. We’re now seeing a drop in the number of cases, but at the beginning of July we were facing a very sharp increase in the number of people contacting their GPs with flu-like symptoms.
“We had serious concerns that the number of people turning up at our local hospitals and GP surgeries would continue to go up, putting real pressure on NHS services and spreading the virus further.”
Latest figures for the region show that although there was an increase in NHS activity, this has started to fall as people act on national advice to use the National Pandemic Flu Service.
Mr Burgess said: “We always knew when we were working on our plans to manage a possible pandemic that co-operation from the public was crucial. It is clear that people are listening to the messages and using NHS services sensibly.”
Health chiefs say that as the number of swine flu cases drop, people have to continue to be vigilant for other illnesses that may start with flu-like symptoms.
Mr Burgess said the flu service will prescribe anti-viral medication for anyone diagnosed as having swine flu, but people should contact their GP if their condition deteriorates or fails to improve after a few days.
Anyone who thinks they may have contracted swine flu virus can contact the National Pandemic Flu Service at www.direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu on call 0800 1 513 513 for information or 0800 1 513 100 for treatment.
Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, cough or shortness of breath. Other symptoms can include headache, sore throat, tiredness, aching muscles, chills, sneezing, runny nose or a loss of appetite.
People with chronic lung, kidney or heart disease, under fives, over 65s and pregnant women should contact their usual GP. Parents with children under one year should call their GP if their child has symptoms as soon as possible.
