OXFORDSHIRE’S top public health official last night said that the county could cope with a swine flu outbreak, as three new cases were confirmed in the UK.

Dr Jonathan McWilliam moved to reassure the public as senior officials from the police, Oxfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust, the Health Protection Agency, Oxfordshire County Council and the fire and ambulance services held their third planning meeting in as many days over swine flu.

Last night, five people in the UK – including a 12-year-old girl from Paignton, in Devon – were confirmed as having contracted swine flu, which is being linked to more than 160 deaths in Mexico and one in the US.

Seventy-six people in the UK have been tested but there has been no reported case or test in Oxfordshire.

Dr McWilliam, the county’s director of public health, said the NHS had sufficient stockpiles of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, which has some effect on swine flu, to cope if there was an outbreak.

He said: “We have been planning for an event like this for the past five years. We’re making sure our plans are well oiled and fit for purpose to protect the people of Oxfordshire.

“All agencies are glued together and people should feel calm and reassured. The vast majority of people will be completely unaffected by this disease.

“It’s only people returning from Mexico and the US who need to be concerned.

“Most people who feel ill should remain calm and treat any flu-like symptoms as they would normally.”

He added: “We have been checking our Tamiflu stockpiles and are confident we have enough and the Government has enough nationally as well.”

Dr Eamonn O’Moore, director of the Thames Valley Health Protection Unit, said his offices in Oxford had seen a significant rise in telephone calls over the past few days.

He said: “We have been busy, but we’re coping. We’re taking a lot of calls from GPs, nurses and members of the public. There’s a lot of information which needs to be exchanged.”

Both doctors urged people to focus on good hygiene, rather than buying face masks, which they said were of no benefit.

The Local Resilience Forum, which has met for two hours every day this week, has been attended by Thames Valley Police’s second highest officer, Deputy Chief Constable Francis Habgood, and the county council’s emergency planning officer Bethan Morgan.

Alison Brumfitt, a spokesman for the South Central Ambulance Service, said: “A response to a flu pandemic is something we’ve had in place for a long time and we’re fairly confident with what’s in place.”

Police spokesman Victoria Bartlett said: “These meetings update all agencies with the best way forward and check plans are correct and we are reacting to the developing situation.”

Oxfordshire PCT spokesman Annika Howard said: “Our plan considers local co-ordination, surveillance, and communications during a pandemic, how to limit its spread and the response required from GPs, community staff and community hospitals.”

The Department of Health is planning to deliver leaflets about swine flu to every household in the country next week.


An Oxfordshire businessman has warned firms to prepare for a flu pandemic.

Malcolm Newdick, managing director of Riverbank IT Management, at Little Haseley, said: “If the virus does spread, it will be a major risk to businesses, not only because people will be ill, but because of the wider disruption the illness could cause”

He urged companies to come up with a business continuity plan, to ensure staff could continue to work from home.

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