Doctor's diary: Swine flu

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/health/8166004.stm

Version 0 of 1.

By Dr Tom Coffey Advertisement

Dr Tom Coffey: "Don't take tamiflu unless you need it"

Dr Tom Coffey says the flu hotline will relieve some pressure on GPs but will struggle to cope with the number of calls.

For the last seven days I have been unbelievably busy with swine flu concerned patients - normally I get 100 calls a day; this time I'm getting 200 calls a day.

The efforts the Department of Health are making to introduce the swine flu line will definitely help general practice.

I think our expectations mustn't be too high - I would hope it will take away some but not all of my calls.

There will still be many patients who will want to see me; want to talk to a doctor.

<a class="bodl" href="/2/hi/health/8036360.stm">MEET THE DOCTORS</a>