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Department 'wrong' on flu policy Department 'wrong' on flu policy
(31 minutes later)
The chair of the NI Assembly's health committee has said the Department of Health's new policy of confirming swine flu deaths once a week is wrong.The chair of the NI Assembly's health committee has said the Department of Health's new policy of confirming swine flu deaths once a week is wrong.
Earlier, the department said it was unable to confirm reports that a child with the virus died last week. Earlier, the department said it was unable to confirm reports that a child with the virus had died last week.
Jim Wells said he would be asking Health Minister Michael McGimpsey to reverse the decision.Jim Wells said he would be asking Health Minister Michael McGimpsey to reverse the decision.
The girl, who is from County Antrim, is believed to be the ninth person in NI with swine flu to have died. The girl, who is from County Antrim, is the fifth special needs child in NI with swine flu to have died.
She is also the fifth special needs child in Northern Ireland with swine flu to have died. She is the 11th person from Northern Ireland to have died after contracting the disease.
Two girls from Foyleview Special School, Londonderry, died in October within a week of each other. Nine of those deaths occurred in the province, while one person died in England and another in Spain.
"Northern Ireland is a small place and if you don't provide accurate information to the public fairly quickly, the rumour mill starts to spin and I think that is not helpful in the fight against swine flu," Mr Wells said.
"I understand that the Department of Health are following guidelines from England, where it is done every Thursday.
"The difficulty is that Northern Ireland is a much more close-knit community than that and I think we should adapt our policy to reflect that situation."
Last month, two girls from Foyleview Special School in Londonderry who had the virus died within a week of each other.
They were Ashleigh Lynch and Orla O'Kane.They were Ashleigh Lynch and Orla O'Kane.
Following the girls' deaths, there were calls from some school principals for teachers in special schools to be included in the first wave of vaccinations. That has now taken place. Following their deaths, there were calls from some school principals for teachers in special schools to be included in the first wave of vaccinations. That has now taken place.
More than 2,500 children in over 20 special schools for severe learning disability across Northern Ireland were offered the vaccine as a matter of urgency.More than 2,500 children in over 20 special schools for severe learning disability across Northern Ireland were offered the vaccine as a matter of urgency.
The schoolgirl is the eleventh person from Northern Ireland to have died after contracting the disease. In addition to the nine people who died in NI, one person died in England and another in Spain.
A Department of Health spokesman said, in line with a new policy, it would only be updating the public in a weekly bulletin every Thursday.