Skip navigation

If you think you have swine flu

Sneezing man - swine flu

If you think you have swine flu – stay at home. You should not go to A&E or to your GP if you think you have swine flu. This means that GPs and A&E teams can concentrate on treating patients they normally see, plus those with complications caused by flu.

If you believe that you may have contracted the swine flu virus you need to contact the National Pandemic Flu Service.

National pandemic flu service

The National Pandemic Flu Service - the swine flu hotline set up at the height of the pandemic - has now closed and patients are advised to call their GP instead.

For general information about Swine flu go to www.direct.gov.uk/en/Swineflu/DG_177831 or call 0800 1 513 513. Alternatively you can call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

If you don't have regular access to the internet you can now get up-to-date information through our digital TV service. See our Preston Connected TV pages to find out how to access this service.

If you think you have swine flu symptoms, you should stay at home and contact your GP, who will be able to assess you over the phone and authorise antivirals if you need them.

Further information is available on the NHS Choices website www.nhs.uk and local updates can be found on www.centrallancashire.nhs.uk.

You can still speak to your GP if you have concerns. People with underlying health conditions, pregnant women and parents with children under the age of one should all speak to their GP if they have symptoms.

While the decision has been taken, for now, to stand down the National Pandemic Flu Service, we are still urging parents to protect their children in the months to come by having them immunised against swine flu. All children between six months and five years old are being offered the swine flu vaccine.

Parents of children in this age group will receive a letter from their GP inviting them to make an appointment.

What are the symptoms?

The majority of people who have had swine flu so far have described mild cold or flu-like symptoms.

These include the sudden onset of fever (high temperature), cough or shortness of breath. Other symptoms can include headache, sore throat, tiredness, aching muscles, chills, sneezing, runny nose or a loss of appetite.

Precautions: hygiene measures

Catch it, Bin it, Kill it ...

It is always good practice to follow good hand and mouth hygiene such as:

  • Covering your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing, using a tissue when possible.
  • Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully.
  • Maintaining good basic hygiene by washing hands frequently with soap and water.
  • Cleaning hard surfaces (eg. desks, telephones, door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product.
  • Make sure children follow this advice.

Find a flu friend

The NHS is urging people to find themselves a ‘flu friend’ as part of plans to prepare.
Although symptoms will be mild for the majority of people who contract the virus, the advice is to stay at home to prevent it spreading.

The flu friend could be a member of the family, a neighbour or a friend. They could be asked to pick up medicine or do essential food shopping.

People are also being asked to consider becoming a flu friend to a vulnerable person, such as an older person or others who may live alone.

See the NHS Central Lancashire flu friend pages for more information.

Vaccination programme

Who will be vaccinated first?

Vaccinations against swine flu began on 21 October 2009. People in high-risk groups, such as those most at risk from seasonal flu and pregnant women, are being given priority.

Children aged between six months and five years old will be offered the swine flu vaccine after vaccination of these priority groups is completed.

Vaccination against swine flu is not compulsory, but people in high-risk groups are being strongly advised to have the vaccination.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation reviewed the evidence and advised the Department of Health on the crucial risk groups to be offered vaccination in order to reduce the rate or possibility of serious illness. This advice was also scrutinised and endorsed by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

The following groups will be prioritised in this order (numbers given are approximate and are for England only):

  • 1. People aged over six months and under 65 years in current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups (about 5 million people).
  • 2. All pregnant women. The European Medicines Agency has indicated the vaccine can be given to pregnant women regardless of their stage of pregnancy.
  • 3. Household contacts of people with compromised immune systems e.g. people in regular close contact with patients on treatment for cancer (about 0.5 million people).
  • 4. People aged 65 and over in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups (about 3.5 million people). This does not include otherwise healthy over 65s, since they appear to have some natural immunity to the virus.
  • 5. Healthy children aged six months and over to five years.

Vaccination of frontline health and social care workers (approximately two million people) will begin at the same time as the first at-risk group, and will continue for as long as necessary. Protecting these people will help the NHS workforce to remain resilient and able to treat sick patients.

Preparations continue to be made to extend the programme beyond these initial priority groups, and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will consider this matter further and report back in due course.

People in the priority groups outlined do not need to take any action yet. Further announcements will be made when the vaccination strategy is ready, and people who need a vaccine will be contacted.

Swine flu advice for carers

NHS Central Lancashire has published a factsheet for carers concerned about swine flu. Copies are available by visiting the NHS Central Lancashire Swine flu page.