The National Flu service, we know its a joke but!

[adrian29uk]

At least this goverment is trying to help us all out. I should imagine in other countries there is no or little help, no information, and any tamiflu stocks are already being sold for 3-4 times more on the black market. So you see, we all know that Labour suck, but at least they will try to ensure that everyone in this country does get some Tamiflu and any other future vaccine.

What annoys me is the moaning about the new website. The BBC news was pathetic, moaning that new website was not working.

How the hell do they expect a server to cope with 9 million visitors an hour, any bloody server would go down, unless of course your Google.

Then they start moaning about the site errors, well again if they know better why dont these overpaid news reporters build the site themself instead of just reporting doom and f***ing gloom every 5 mins.

 

[itszamora]

As with most things recently though, this reeks of the Government promising to help in a wonderful way, not thinking properly about it and totally ballsing up.

 

[adrian29uk]

It would not matter who was in, it would still be the same.

 

[itszamora]

It would not matter who was in, it would still be the same.

You're probably right, it's a bit of a typical British cock-up.

 

[Gwylan]

You're probably right, it's a bit of a typical British cock-up.

That's a bit harsh. If the government had invested in a server facility so powerful that it could cope with millions of people accessing it at the same time, critics would be sniping about the waste of texpayers' money in building a completely unnecessary infrastructure. Adrian might say that only Google could maintain 24-hour services but there have been at least three Google outages in the past couple of months so even Google can't get it right all the time.

Personally speaking (and I'm not a Labour voter) I think the government's response to swine flu has been pretty good and this initiative could free up a lot of health resources. I really don't see this as a cock-up at all.

 

[Wardy]

When the vaccination is ready in October, they will only have enough stock for 60% of the population.

 

[itszamora]

That's a bit harsh. If the government had invested in a server facility so powerful that it could cope with millions of people accessing it at the same time, critics would be sniping about the waste of texpayers' money in building a completely unnecessary infrastructure. Adrian might say that only Google could maintain 24-hour services but there have been at least three Google outages in the past couple of months so even Google can't get it right all the time.

Personally speaking (and I'm not a Labour voter) I think the government's response to swine flu has been pretty good and this initiative could free up a lot of health resources. I really don't see this as a cock-up at all.

My worry is that (and people I know within the service feel this way too) the people on the other end of the phone/running the website are NOT medically trained, and are just working from a tickbox list to see if people have swine flu. This means many people are being told they have it when it's actually other things like meningitis (for which you DO need to go to hospital!). And then of course there's the issue of people ringing up just to get their tamiflu stocks in early when they're completely fine.

 

[Gwylan]

My worry is that (and people I know within the service feel this way too) the people on the other end of the phone/running the website are NOT medically trained, and are just working from a tickbox list to see if people have swine flu. This means many people are being told they have it when it's actually other things like meningitis (for which you DO need to go to hospital!). And then of course there's the issue of people ringing up just to get their tamiflu stocks in early when they're completely fine.

BUt that's not what you said. The original post was about the servers going down and you said that it was a "typical British cock-up" - I just thought that it was a bit unfair given that larger number of servers would be overkill.

The points that you make above are cogent and do need to be addressed but, if everyone who suspected he/she had swine flu went to GP surgeries, the system would be completely overwhelmed (not to mention the risk of spreading the disease further). I think the government is on the right lines but does need to monitor the process carefully.

 

[itszamora]

BUt that's not what you said. The original post was about the servers going down and you said that it was a "typical British cock-up" - I just thought that it was a bit unfair given that larger number of servers would be overkill.

The points that you make above are cogent and do need to be addressed but, if everyone who suspected he/she had swine flu went to GP surgeries, the system would be completely overwhelmed (not to mention the risk of spreading the disease further). I think the government is on the right lines but does need to monitor the process carefully.

Well, the reason the servers went down was people with no symptoms logging on. 9 million people an hour were accessing it - just in one hour that's roughly a fifth of the population of England when maybe 200,000 tops actually have it.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

As with most things recently though, this reeks of the Government promising to help in a wonderful way, not thinking properly about it and totally ballsing up.

I put this down to the media and the people of this country. Swine flu, in comparison, is comparable with regular flu on most levels. If you're fit and healthy then a few days in bed will sort you out. If you're young, old or vulnerable then seek help. Why the hysteria?

 

[itszamora]

I put this down to the media and the people of this country. Swine flu, in comparison, is comparable with regular flu on most levels. If you're fit and healthy then a few days in bed will sort you out. If you're young, old or vulnerable then seek help. Why the hysteria?

Quite. As someone who's (in a very small way) part of the media I'd agree a lot of the coverage has probably been unhelpful and contributed to the perception some people still have that it will kill them instantly. I guess that's probably because that did initially seem to be the case when it first appeared in Mexico, but of course it's since been found to be no worse than regular flu as you say.

 

[adrian29uk]

Correct, the media is shocking at reporting the Swine Flu. If anyone is going to cause a panic its these idiots. Good example

Talksport news said that a woman has been sent to a specialist hospital in switzerland as she had a severe reaction to Swine Flu. Then after this they say, this is because there are not enough beds at her local hospital to cope.

 

[pasty]

And then of course there's the issue of people ringing up just to get their tamiflu stocks in early when they're completely fine.

Indeed. How long before we see Tamiflu on ebay ?


:mendoza:
(completely unrelated smiley, just spotted it and liked it)

 

[adrian29uk]

They only report the bad shit and the panic. So some people will now ask what is this bad strain the woman has, is this the next advancement in Swine Flu. And look I found a balanced report

Scottish swine flu victim transferred to Sweden because UK had no specialist beds left - The Daily Record

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Indeed. How long before we see Tamiflu on ebay ?


:mendoza:
(completely unrelated smiley, just spotted it and liked it)

I was wondering about this lately - who in their right mind would buy medication off the t'internet ... you wouldn't have a clue what you were actually getting.

 

[adrian29uk]

When the vaccination is ready in October, they will only have enough stock for 60% of the population.

And this will need to be given to highest priority. There is no way this should be put on any site.

 

[sten_super]

I think the government DID balls up on this one. The reason that they got so many hits yesterday is because this website is so late coming online. I had some flu-type symptoms about 6 weeks ago, and of course the first thought is 'swine flu'. However the NHS direct website kept crashing (they have a similar tick-box assessment thing) and it specifically said NOT to call the helpline unless you were sure you had it. This website should have been online 2+ months ago, IMO.

I agree that the media reporting has been unhelpful; probably because a fair few aren't aware of the facts themselves. On 5live this morning Nicky Campbell was trying to big up swine flu, and asked the health reporter 'so this is the most deaths from flu since which previous major catastphrope (sp.) then?', to which the reporter replied 'err, last year. On average around 4,000 people die from flu every year'. Bearing in mind that so far 31 people have died from it, it's some way off being a major incident at this stage (although I accept that the cases and the death toll will continue to rise, and the situation may well change).

 

[bhafc99]

Well, the reason the servers went down was people with no symptoms logging on. 9 million people an hour were accessing it - just in one hour that's roughly a fifth of the population of England when maybe 200,000 tops actually have it.

Exactly. 9.3m people do NOT have swine flu, but that's how many besieged the service in just one hour yesterday.

Never mind how big or not the swine flu outbreak is, I'm more depressed by this outbreak of typically British "panic the moment you're told not to panic", "every man for himself", "ignore the facts" behaviour.

No wonder the online and phone diagnosis service crashed yesterday, with these millions of middle class Daily Mail readers phoning in claiming 'symptoms' just to get their hands on Tamiflu.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Tamiflu will shorten the illness by approximately 1 day.

The real problem is not the availability of the drug (which has already started to show evidence of ineffectiveness as the virus becomes resistant) but the absence of Critical Care beds when the virus warms up in the Autumn.

UK provision of Adult and Paediatric ITU beds is around 4,500 against a population of 60+ million with approximately 1/5 expected to contract the disease. Even if only a tiny percentage develop complications the service will be swamped and no amount of Tamiflu or Relenza will affect that fact. We must have a vaccine very soon or this will be a major problem because, Swine Flu excepted, our service runs at around 90% occupancy with other emergency admissions all year round.

I was in some major London ITU's this week and they fully expect to be overwhelmed in the next couple of months so lets get this into perspective.

 

[DIFFBROOK]

Hang on a mo. Nobody can knock the Govt on this one. We are the only country that has it and what a great idea it is too. Takes the pressure off GPs so that they can treat those who very ill.

Has it come in late? No I dont think so, seeing as the vast majority of people in this country haven't had this flu yet. Typical of a Tory opposition to knock it. Seeing as under Tory Govts the NHS could barely cope with normal winter Flu.

There will always be a degree of panic from the worried well. I think the number of hits this site will take will decrease quite substantially once the newness of it wears down.

I think this Govt can take a lot of credit on this one.