Burnham to deliver swine flu update as criticism grows

The Health Secretary Andy Burnham will update MPs on swine flu today amid confusion over advice to high-risk groups including pregnant women.

The NHS website currently advises expectant mothers to avoid rush-hour trains and buses in order to minimise contact with crowds, but a statement from officials last night said that daily routine should continue where possible.

In his statement to the Commons, Burnham will also address claims that government in-fighting delayed the launch of a new flu hotline.

The National Pandemic Flu Service, which will allow people to receive a diagnosis and obtain antiviral drugs over the internet and the telephone, is due to go live in England at the end of this week.

The Liberal Democrats claim that the Treasury was expected to approve the scheme in June last year, but only did so in December. The party says that documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that divisions between the Treasury and the Department of Health over costs and timings delayed the launch.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman, Norman Lamb, said that the delay meant GPs had been burdened with "a large number of calls that should have been directed to a national FluLine."

"It is incredibly frustrating that the national flu strategy is inevitably being undermined because this central plank is not in place," he said.

"Not only is this putting an additional burden on GPs, but the government is having to use taxpayers' money to cover the cost of setting up an interim service which should not have been necessary in the first place."

But a Department of Health spokesman insisted that the flu service had needed to be "rigorously tested".

"Launching without this could risk wasting taxpayers' money," he said.

"Subject to final checks, the first release of the system will be in place at the end of this week and will further ensure the NHS is well placed to respond."

"The flu service will be able to quickly diagnose people with swine flu and give them the opportunity to get anti-virals from local centres, meaning in turn that GPs' time will be freed up enabling them to deal with other illnesses," he said.

29 people have now died in the UK as a result of the virus, 26 in England and three in Scotland. Health officials have warned that as many as 65,000 people could die from swine flu this winter.