Source: Daily Mail
Thousands may be using the national flu line to land themselves 'swine flu sickies', it was claimed last night.
Every Monday the number using the hotline or associated website to get Tamiflu is more than double that of the day before, Government figures show. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so there is no reason why people should wait until after the weekend to use it.
It also emerged yesterday that fewer than 10 per cent of those prescribed Tamiflu actually have swine flu, according to estimates based on tests on a sample by the Health Protection Agency. Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson admitted the weekly Monday spikes in calls to the National Pandemic Flu Service were 'curious'. But he would not comment on the suggestion that people were using the disease as an excuse to get time off work.
Last Sunday about 3,500 contacted the flu service, but the figure rose to 8,500 on Monday. The week before the number rose from 6,500 to 16,000. The number of Monday calls has been at least double the Sunday figure every week since the service was launched on July 23. Every week, Monday is the hotline's busiest day.
Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: 'We have always said the system is open to abuse, and these figures appear to prove it.
