swine flu

[karenG]

am I the only one being driven totally demented by swine flu????

I work in a busy general practice (we have 13000 patients registered) and so far this week I have taken over 100 phone calls from people who think they are going to die from swine flu, including one mother who told me that if her child dies, it will be my fault and she will sue me!!

I am fed up with the goverment telling people that GP's are preparing to immunise people.. are we?? thats the first we have heard. I am now reading the telegraph online each morning to find out what I am supposed to be doing!! I have no idea how we are going to immunise all the practice. 13000 patients recieving 2 vaccinations a month apart plus all the normal work load plus the normal flu vaccine... we have 3 practice nurses and me to do the imms.. the docs are too busy seeing patients to help.. or we could just refuse to do anything other than give imms for a few weeks..............! I would like some information from them up high... not have to read it in the papers!! how stupid do i look when the patients know more than me????

and.. has anyone tried phoning the swine flu info number.......its a recorded message, listing the symptoms and saying if you have 2 or more of the symptoms to contact your GP! we are also getting told off by the primary care trust because people are going to a&e with their symptoms... thats our fault apparently for not giving the right advise!! em.. the patients choose to to a&e, they dont come anywhere near us!!

and to top it all, I now have a sore throat, thumping headache, cough and cold and feel rotten.. hmm could be swine flu...

ok I am really fed up at the moment!!!!! am I the only one feeling fed up??

[ayla2004, ASN, RN]

yeah but not with swine flue just feel overworked.

its summer and we are constalty on red status for beds in the trust flinging people through the system. my head is spining doing admission and discharges.

can i come down with swime flu?

[XB9S, BSN, MSN, EdD, RN, APN]

Oh dear Karen, primary care is on the front line and I really do feel for you. We've been OK where I work so far but then I work on a surgical unit so we are only going to be hit when medicine is up the creek for beds(oops that's a normal state of affairs isn't it )

[ayla2004, ASN, RN]

Oh dear Karen, primary care is on the front line and I really do feel for you. We've been OK where I work so far but then I work on a surgical unit so we are only going to be hit when medicine is up the creek for beds(oops that's a normal state of affairs isn't it )

it is with my trust well cote beds anyway.

we lost out ot for a fortnight as shen was setting up sime flu stuff and our infection control team couldn't respond toa request as the nurses we all ina metting.

the trust has made us fill swime flu skilsl questionaire

[XB9S, BSN, MSN, EdD, RN, APN]

I take it all back, it's gone nuts where I work today, impacting on all services.

**sigh** guess that'll teach me to open my big mouth

[ayla2004, ASN, RN]

yup same with us

[JamesMorgan]

Same here, I work in Primarycare and I have patients calling all day asking when are we getting the vaccine to cure the swine flu, first I heard of it. We have also had patients saying it is a dire emergency I want my child seen within 10 minutes! im coming up whether you like it or not.....but the child has had the symptoms for 5 days and now they decide to do something about it at 5:30pm on a Friday afternoon!!! Then you screen those who phone for an appointment " do you have flu like symptoms?" they say "No, but I do have a sore throat, aching limbs, runny nose, headache" and we wonder why its still spreading as the general publica doesnt really have a clue but unfortunately the government have not managed it in the best way that they could have...but did we expect them to do a good job in the first place?