Mumsnet Talk

Am a regular, Greggs sausage rolls are from Satan, don't steal grapes in supermarkets and shoot anyone childless using a parents' parking space.

here is our story

I would be interested to know if any other Mumsnetters have had similar experiences - if you have, perhaps you could post them on the Times website too?

bump?

Luckily not had swine flu yet, although one DS is beginning to feel unwell today. BUT what happened to you is terrible. I can certianly understand how frightening it must have been. Hope you are all on the mend now.

So it would be best to get tamiflu for the whole family once one of you gets sick?

I don't think you can get tamiflu automatically, Eldon, it's down to the GP's discretion. From what I know.

Fortunately have not experienced it yet but I think its good that you contacted them. Unless the government or can see that their plans are not working on a practical level then its going to get very challenging for people.

Yes absolutely, people need to speak up about the problems at the coalface otherwise nothing will get done.

The scary thing is that our town has not yet been badly hit. What happens if/when it DOES get to epidemic levels?

this is what i've been worrying about. I'm hoping to god your story will be the exception and not the rule as things worsen. How frightening for you.

My God. The Health Service is going to kill a lot of people with their typical disgraceful no common sense attitude. This is very very frightening, and will cause a lot of fear and panic.I don't trust any of them, this country is just total total shit.

junglist.

I am genuinely worried about the people who do just do what they are told.

My friends brother has been hospitalised tonight because he was ignored all day long, just left in agony barely moving. They said somebody would be out but no, didn't happen. I hope he's OK

Are you cold?

Are you local?

Ha ha, yes I lurked!!! Am I being a hysterical shrieker

Hehehehe

Pretty horrific. I have been watching the SF stuff carefully as have a son with not yet fully diagnosed asthma and very prone to get everything. This last year we have been in hospital a number of times with various things with no resolution.

We have SF in the nursery he goes to, notified as of today.

Here's what I plan. Am going to see asthma nurse this week for review. At that meeting I will ask for the protocol for getting and giving Tamiflu and other treatment.

I have been on the DoH website and printed off the treatment protocols issued to health care workers. These say VERY clearly that treatment should be given to symptomatic patients. I will be waving it at them and pointing out national guidelines the minute anyone in my family develops symptoms.

And based on previous experience of developing a nasty viral illness in the whole family, just as the SF business broke in the UK, my first phone call will NOT be to NHS direct or the flu line, actually, but to the regional out of hours service who advised me they have MUCH more ability to get services to local patients and direct them to available resources, as well as inside info about local rates of infection etc...

I don't know whether this is a good strategy or not but with such pressure on resources, I think we have to be wily and fight for what we might need.

I wouldn't advise anyone to call NHS direct if they can't call their GP.

An immediate recorded message tells you that they are so busy they can only deal with you if you are seriously unwell. If you are brave(?) enough to hold the line, you get to chat to someone who (after checking that the person you are calling about is not in imminent danger of dying) informs you that there is a wait list for a nurse call back.

In my case I had called about my 2 year old asthmatic DS who was symtomatic but not really unwell. I received a call back at 3am (12 hours after initial call) telling me to ring the out of hours service -it was saturday.

So, I rang the OOHS, tamiflu was prescribed for DS .... long story really resulting in DH and I now also having SF and being on Tamiflu.

So, after all that rambling (foggy flu brain -sorry!), i'm basically saying not to bother with NHS direct but to call your GP or out of hours service.

MY 22 month old was very poorly 2 weeks ago. I believe he had SF. I phoned NHSdirect when he started with the temp and cough, and was told that he had a viral infection and to take him to the GP. I went to the dropin clinic TWICE!!! (sat far far away from anyone) and still they insisted that he had a viral infection, 3 days later DH and myself went down with it... DH was very ill, I was ok, dosed up on meds, then DD1 got it (she has cerebral palsy so got the tamiflu straight away) But if Ds2 was correctly dignosed and given the tamiflu he wouldn't have been so poorly, and maybe the rest of us would have been able to the tamiflu easily.

My son was born prematurely and should have had the tamiflu anyway

We had a similar experience with what later was confirmed by the lab as swine flu last month.

DD1 fell ill first, on a Saturday. She was not tested until 10 days later, and still tested positive.

As did the rest of us.

Out-of-hours GP said she had a UTI .

Dreadful story - I hope everyone is getting better now.

If we get swine flu and my children's health really starts scaring me - sod NHS Direct (have never rated them) / GP / Walking centre - I shall go to A&E (leaving children in car initially as your friend did to enable them to make provision for quarantined treatment).

If they are unhelpful I will take my children into the department since they will have left me no choice - once over the threshold they have a duty of care to treat....

Frightening sotry. I wish I could leave all the swine-flu threads on MN alone soon as only makes me worry. Should my children get seriously ill, I would do take same approach as HMC. Have tried NHS direct before and might as well use google.

These are all good strategies, but I should point out that ATM a lot of local Out of Hours provision telephone numbers are referring swine flu stuff straight to NHS Direct. So it is a judgemental call whether you want to mention it or not, if you contact them.

I can't BELIEVE I am encouraging people to lie to the NHS if they need urgent treatment...

On reflection, perhaps it's not about lying, just being judicious about what you choose to say in requesting out of hours care. Although TBH I think the home visit GPs are so overstretched you are likely to wait for a long time anyway...

Also have 22 month old who had been off colour with diarhea and generally not herself for a week then at the weekend was burning up temp over 40 not sleeping eating or drinking. Calpol not working. Took her to A and E on Sunday where out of hours GP saw her (after nurse had given ibrubrofen which kicked in) very very very unhelpful doc said how could I have brought her in for a temperature of 1 day? he said to wait another 3 days until going to GP. Under 2 years old with a temp of 40 for 5 days??? ffs. anyway worse that night so tried to call NHS direct. WASTE OF TIME on hold for ages and had to give up as she needed me. Same story with OOH surgery number. Paramedic friend said sounded like could be s flu. Called GP in the morning who listened to symptoms over phone then asked us to come in and thinks it's an upper respiratory tract virus as it is slowly getting better..

girls, can you put that story up on the Times website in the comments? I think it would be good if as many stories as possible about not being able to access care can be put together in one place, so that it's clear that the system isn't working well at the moment for those with sick children.