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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Department 'wrong' on flu policy | Department 'wrong' on flu policy |
| (30 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 had died last Thursday. | |
| 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 the fifth special needs child 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 the 11th person from Northern Ireland to have died after contracting the disease. | She is the 11th person from Northern Ireland to have died after contracting the disease. |
| Nine of those deaths occurred in the province, while one person died in England and another in Spain. | 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. | "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. | "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." | "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. | 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 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. | 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. |