‘Not enough distribution points to give out Tamiflu’

British woman has been flown to Sweden for swine flu treatment

Thousands of swine flu patients will be left without medication because there are not enough Tamiflu distribution centres in the capital, the Government was warned today.

Ten London Primary Care Trusts have set up just one anti-viral collection point each to serve their populations.

One small pharmacy in central London is the only collection centre for the City, where 300,000 people travel to work every day — and it closes at 6pm.

The sole health centre that supplies medication in Bromley is closed at weekends, while people in Sutton have only one pharmacy to go to.

"Flu friends" attempting to pick up Tamiflu for sufferers have found distribution centres closed, while one "24-hour" service in Kensington and Chelsea shut at 10pm last night.

Another patient was turned away from a distribution centre in Ealing for being one minute late.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: "The distribution of these centres looks totally random, We are told it has been thought through carefully but it doesn't look like it.

"We are told it is vital to get access to Tamiflu easily, so we must make sure the access points make sense. It seems bizarre to have lots in one borough and little coverage elsewhere."

Geoff Martin, of London Health Emergency, said: "This is an absolute lottery. Some PCTs seem to have done the bare minimum and they should be put under pressure to open more centres, otherwise there will be chaos.

"How could such a patchy system have been allowed to develop? Thousands of people are not going to be able to get these drugs at weekends."

The names of London's distribution centres were made public online at 3pm yesterday — minutes before the NHS website crashed. Southwark, Richmond, Merton, Kensington and Chelsea, Hackney, Ealing and Westminster also only have one distribution centre each.

A spokesman for NHS London said every PCT in London is required to set up at least one centre. He added: "When deciding where they should be located PCTs should look at how the population is dispersed, the local transport links and the previous demand for Tamiflu in pharmacies and GP surgeries.

"Primary Care Trusts understand their own residents better than anyone else. They will keep assessing the situation and we might see more centres."


Surinder Tivey got Tamiflu for her children

But in one incident yesterday, Caroline Robinson, 38, rushed from her job in Ashford in Middlesex to pick up a prescription for her sister at Ealing's only collection point, but arrived too late. Her sister had been told it would be open until 10pm, but it closed at 8pm.

She said: "It's been incredibly stressful. The centre has to stay open later."

Another woman said: "We live so far away. The traffic was awful and we were just one minute late.

"What am I going to do now? My whole family is infected and we're not going to be able to get any medicine. It's not fair."

Barkers Chemist in Merton is the only collection point for that area. Manager Dinesh Patel said: "People in the area are incredibly anxious. The was a big increase in people coming to us as soon as the website was up. Hopefully the mad rush will even out."

There was also confusion at the St Charles Hospital centre in Kensington and Chelsea. It was supposed to be open 24 hours a day but residents found it closed at 10pm last night. A member of staff said that the centre would be open around the clock from today.

The manager of the City's only collection point in Goswell Road said his pharmacy had been "inundated".

Government Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson today said the flu website crashed only because so many people were "curious".

Using the helpline

Patients can get Tamiflu by calling the National Pandemic Flu Service on 0800 1 513 100, or by clicking here.

They will be asked a series of questions by call centre staff to check they are suffering from swine flu. If they are found to have the virus the patient will be given an authentication code which they can use to get hold of a course of Tamiflu. A list of Tamiflu distribution centres is also available on the website.

People with swine flu symptoms are advised not to go to the distribution centres to pick up their own medication. Instead, they should find a "flu friend" who is well, pass them the authentication code and ask them to pick up the medication on their behalf.

The new flu service is designed to take the pressure off GP surgeries and NHS Direct.

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