A mistake on the NHS national pandemic flu emergency hotline, which omitted the Isle of Wight, is being corrected today (Friday July 24) following the intervention of Andrew Turner, the Island’s MP.

Alerted by a constituent that the Island was not listed as having antiviral drug collection points, Mr Turner today contacted the private office of the Secretary of State for Health where an official assured him the mistake would be rectified.

Mr Turner said :
“The website information was very confusing because the Island was not included and the nearest collection points were given as Portsmouth or Southampton. I was alerted to the situation by a constituent in Ryde who was seeking treatment for his wife. It is widely accepted that the Government’s handling of this pandemic has been less than efficient – and this seems to be another aspect of their response that has gone wrong. Suggesting that people who may be suffering from an infectious disease should get on a ferry to go to collect anti-viral drugs is plainly ridiculous. One of my four staff has been away from work this week suffering from flu-like symptoms so the issue is quite close to home.”

There are 16 pharmacies offering antiviral drugs on the Island and Mr Turner said he had read that doses of the antiviral drug, Tamiflu, given to Islanders increased from 100 to around 400 in the past week.

“The advice is that people with flu-like symptoms should call the swine flu information hotline 0800 1 513 513 or NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 where they will be given a unique reference number to take to an antiviral collection point. Alternatively, visit www.direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu. You cannot simply turn up and collect the drugs without the reference number.”

More advice is available from the Island’s NHS Trust website : www.iow.nhs.uk

Collection points on the Island are: Boots the Chemist 124-126 High Street Newport; Boots the Chemist,170-172 High Street Ryde; Boots the Chemist, 200 Newport Road, Cowes; Lloyds Pharmacy 41-42 Pyle Street, Newport; Lloyds Pharmacy, 25 Ferry Road, East Cowes; Lloyds Pharmacy, Sandown Health Centre, Sandown; Lloyds Pharmacy, 30 High Street, Ventnor; Day Lewis Pharmacy, 7 High Street, Cowes; Day Lewis Pharmacy, 51 Regent Street, Shanklin; Siddy’s Pharmacy, 86-88 High Street, Newport; Tesco Pharmacy, Brading Road, Ryde; Regent Pharmacy, 59 Regent Street, Shanklin; Kemkay Pharmacy, 3 Clifton Buildings, Avenue Road, Freshwater; Brighstone Surgery, New Road, Brighstone; Godshill Surgery, 2 Yarborough Close, Godshill; Niton Surgery, Blackgang Road, Niton; Pharmacy (main entrance) University of Southampton Building, St Mary’s Hospital, Newport.


END Contact : Andrew Turner’s office 01983 530808