Specialist swine flu centres set up in Kirklees

Jul 27 2009 by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

TWO special centres have been set up to dispense antivirals for swine flu – but people can only go if they have a special reference number.

The collection point in Huddersfield will be at the former Cambridge Road Nursery on Cambridge Road in Huddersfield and will be open each day from 10am to 6pm seven days a week.

In Dewsbury it will be at the Walsh Centre on Town Hall Way, Dewsbury, and open at the same times.

An NHS Kirklees spokesman said: “When people who believe they have swine flu contact the National Pandemic Flu Service they will be given a unique reference number to use to pick up antiviral medication.

“They should then ask a flu friend – a friend or relative who doesn’t have swine flu – to go and pick up their antivirals from special antiviral collection points in Kirklees.

“The flu friend must show their own ID as well as that of the patient. The authorisation number and ID information will be checked to ensure it matches the information provided when the assessment of symptoms was completed.’’

He stressed: “The Antiviral Collection Points cannot dispense to people with a prescription, only a unique reference number.

“The centre will not provide an assessment service and people will not be able to obtain their unique reference number at these sites – only through the National Pandemic Flu Service.’’

Outside the hours of 10am to 6pm, antivirals are dispensed from Greenhead Pharmacy on Greenhead Road, Huddersfield (8am to 12 midnight Monday to Friday, 10am to midnight on Saturday); Asda at Brackenhall (8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday); Tesco on Viaduct Street (8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday).

Meanwhile, the health service has robust plans in place to cope with a shortage of workers due to swine flu.

But NHS Kirklees admitted it would freeze non-urgent health services if the need arose.

Planned surgical procedures could be the first casualty if swine flu hits a large proportion of its workforce.

The NHS Kirklees spokesman said: “It depends how things progress. In terms of non-urgent elective operations, it might be these are re-arranged if pressures increase elsewhere in the system.