News

Swine flu update - 10 February 2010

The number of new cases of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) in England per week has greatly reduced in recent weeks, and is currently less than seen with normal seasonal flu.

With the number of cases falling, the National Pandemic Flu Service is being stood down as of February 11.

From February 11 if you think you have symptoms of H1N1 influenza, you should stay at home and contact your GP, who will be able to assess you and authorise antivirals if you need them. These will remain available through antiviral collections points until further notice. If you have a serious underlying illness, are pregnant or have a sick child under one year old, you should contact your GP directly.

Your GP will also be able to advise you on vaccination.

For up-to-date information visit www.direct.gov.uk/swineflu or call the swine flu information line on 0800 1 513 513.

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At Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of patients presenting with symptoms of flu. We will continue to monitor the situation, ensuring there is a unified, timely and appropriate response across our organisation to any change in situation.

We would ask our patients and visitors to continue observing good hand hygiene practices when at our hospitals, and to stay at home and contact their GP if they think they have symptoms of flu. We would also like to thank our staff for their hard work and dedication to patient care during the latest flu outbreak.

Update on maternity services at our hospitals
Due to the marked decrease in the number of cases of suspected flu at our trust, we have removed some of the visiting restrictions for our maternity services. Siblings of babies are now allowed to visit, and tours of the birth centre and labour ward will be recommenced. We will review the situation if there is an increase in the number of flu cases.

Further information
For more information please refer to the following websites: