DOCTORS in York and North Yorkshire say they have been inundated with calls about swine flu in recent days, as an increasing number of patients go down with suspected cases of the illness.

But some have also been visiting their surgery and accident and emergency departments – against all the advice – and may have passed the illness on to some staff as a result.

“We have had a huge increase in the number of phone calls,” said Dr David Fair, of Jorvik Medical Practice, which has surgeries in the centre of York and South Bank. “We are getting at least 30 per day, some from people that have swine flu symptoms and some from people worried because they have been in contact with people who have it.”

He said that, at the moment, such queries were being fielded by a doctor assigned to deal with all calls, but if the number of swine flu calls rose any further, a second doctor would have to be assigned to deal specifically with those alone.

The increase at Jorvik is in line with a nationwide leap of almost 50 per cent in the numbers of people contacting GPs with swine flu fears.

Dr Fair said that despite repeated requests for people to stay away from the surgery if they think they have flu, several had come to Jorvik, and this might explain why a couple of reception staff were now also showing symptoms of the illness. The GP, who estimated last week that 100 people in York might be affected by swine flu, said yesterday he believed more than 1,000 might now have fallen ill.

Dr Peter Brambleby, director of public health at NHS North Yorkshire and York, also spoke of the crucial importance of patients ringing rather than visiting their surgery, saying that by calling in people risked passing on the illness to other patients who were more vulnerable.

He said that if the GP decided that they might benefit from anti-viral medication, they would issue an authorisation voucher – like a prescription – entitling them to an anti-viral medication such as Tamiflu. He said patients should then ask a “flu friend” – a healthy friend or relative - to go and pick it up for them and get it made up at one of the designated pharmacies.

“Flu Friends can also make sure they have enough food, fluids and simple cold remedies.”

Dr Brambleby said that vaccines for swine flu would arrive this autumn, and would probably be given to school-age children at their school in an extension of existing school vaccine services.

For pre-school children and adults, the vaccines would be given at the surgery or some other designated location, such as the village hall.

Their comments came as the Government announced that 29 people have now died in the UK after contracting swine flu, 26 in England and three in Scotland.

GPs nationally have criticised the Government’s response to the flu pandemic, accusing it of giving conflicting advice to doctors and patients, poor out-of-hours planning and confusion over prescribing the antiviral drug Tamiflu.

Victim confined to house after brief encounter blamed

ONE of York’s first suspected victims of swine flu has told how she had been “grounded” like a naughty child since catching the illness.

The woman, of Tang Hall, who is in her 40s but who does not want to be identified, was one of an estimated 100 people across York thought by doctors to have caught the illness by the end of last week. She said she had felt “absolutely horrible” in the first days after falling ill, but had been recovering well since starting a course of the anti-virus tablets Tamiflu.

She said she believed that, surprisingly, she might have caught the illness from a man she met in the street, rather than in an enclosed space.

“He said he felt really horrible and thought he might have the flu.

“You wouldn’t have thought I could have caught it from him, but then I got a sore throat, with a taste like hot pepper.

“I wanted to cough but it was very dry.

“Then the following day, I felt worse. I had a headache and a temperature, and felt absolutely exhausted, and phoned up the doctor.

“They said not to come in, but to send someone to the surgery to pick up a prescription for some Tamiflu.

“My daughter went and got the prescription made up at the Badger Hill chemists – not everywhere has got it as yet.

“I was given a five-day course. For the first few days, I went to bed. I was too tired even to watch telly. But each day I've been feeling better.

“But I was not allowed out for seven days. I was grounded. I felt like a naughty kid that’s been told to stay in. It’s been absolutely horrible but it's not as bad as they are making out. My family and friends have been great.”

What to do if you think you have contracted swine flu

• Go on line and check your symptoms on www.nhs.uk

• Phone NHS Direct on 0845 4647, or phone the swine flu information line on 0800 1513 513

• If you are still concerned, phone your GP who can provide a diagnosis over the phone

• Get a “flu friend” to pick up your prescription and get it made up at a designated pharmacy

What you should NOT do if you think you have swine flu

• Visit your GP surgery, pharmacy or local A&E department

• Go direct to your local pharmacy and ask for anti-virals – pharmacists will not be able to provide them without authorisation

Flu update move during MPs’ break

MPs will be updated weekly on how the swine flu pandemic is spreading across their constituencies over the coming months, Commons Leader Harriet Harman has said.

Ms Harman said the data would be released to them “as a matter of routine” and they would not need to ask for it.

She also told the Commons that the Government’s emergency committee, Cobra, would meet fortnightly over the summer as it continues to monitor the situation.

Ms Harman was responding to concerns that MPs might not be kept informed through the long summer break about the outbreak.

GPs have criticised the Government’s response to the flu pandemic, accusing it of providing conflicting advice to both doctors and patients.

The Royal College of GPs is collecting feedback from family doctors on issues arising from the outbreak, which has been linked to 17 deaths in the UK so far.

It comes after GPs saw a leap of almost 50 per cent in the last week in the numbers of people contacting them with fears they have swine flu.

About 40,000 people a week in England and Wales are now complaining to their doctor of “flu-like illness”, with a huge rise in the number of young children being affected.