HUNDREDS DIAL 999 WITH FLU

FLU VICTIMS are bringing London's health service to crisis point by needlessly dialling 999 and demanding to be rushed to hospital.

Hundreds have swamped the ambulance service with calls and are causing chaos in over-stretched accident and emergency departments. Doctors fear the situation will get worse as the Sydney flu bug, which can last up to 10 days, continues to sweep south from the North of England and the Midlands.

Dr Doug Fleming, of the Royal College of General Practitioners' infectious diseases monitoring unit, accused victims of selfishness. He said: "Hospitals are the wrong place for flu patients. There is no curative treatment for flu and there is no point going to see your doctor let alone going to hospital unless you have a serious chest disease or are elderly and living on your own." However, many are ignoring their doctors' advice and are ringing 999 for an ambulance to bypass GPs' waiting rooms. The London Ambulance Service received 115 callouts for flu on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, more than double last year's figure. Health Secretary Frank Dobson said hospital admissions for flu cases are already putting severe strain on hospitals across the North West and Midlands. He will detail today how the NHS is to use a Government grant of GBP 159 million, aimed at easing winter pressures, outlining more than 2,000 initiatives being taken by health authorities across the country. Another GBP 50 million is being held in reserve. The extra money was announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown in his comprehensive spending review in November to help the NHS through the winter. Measures include GBP 750,000 extra for improving intensive care beds in London. The elderly and other vulnerable groups are expected to be the focus of the announcement, with help for community nurses and emergency response teams, night-sitting services and home-care help to prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital. There were no intensive care beds available yesterday at any of London's 36 hospitals, the Evening Standard revealed. Nine non-urgent patients were treated in ambulances outside Kingston Hospital before being taken to other hospitals because there were no spare beds in casualty. Doctors say the flu outbreak is not yet an epidemic. More than 400 cases per 100,000 of the population must be recorded in a week for it to be official. By New Year's Eve the figure had barely topped 100.

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