Whilst we don’t wish to cause any panic, with the Swine Flu now becoming more virulent we thought the following basic guidelines might be helpful.
There is also a copy of the Government’s leaflet on Swine flu on the notice board.
What are the symptoms of swine flu?
The common symptoms are: Fever, sore throat, diarrhoea, headache, feeling generally unwell and a dry cough – in other words, symptoms very similar to seasonal influenza.
What should you do if you believe you have the above symptoms?
If you think you have the above symptoms, or if your manager believes that you are displaying the flu-like symptoms and has a good reason to believe that you may have been exposed to the swine flu virus you will be advised to go home and check your symptoms with the National Pandemic Flu Service.
You should only call your GP directly if you:
- have a serious underlying illness
- if you are pregnant
- if your condition suddenly gets worse or is still getting worse after 7 days
The Government has launched the National Pandemic Flu Service where you can assess for swine flu on line or you can be assessed by telephone. This has been set up to take the strain off GPs and gives fast access to information and antiviral medication.
the National Pandemic Flu Service on 0800 1 513 513 or 0800 1 513 100
Textphone for people who are deaf or hard of hearing: 0800 1 513 200
http://www.direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu
You should stay at home until the symptoms have been diagnosed.
What should you do to reduce the risk of spreading the flu?
As swine flu is considered contagious you should ensure that you:
- Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and use a tissue
- Dispose of used tissues carefully
- Wash your hands frequently with not water and soap or a sanitizer gel
- Clean hard surfaces (eg kitchen worktops, door handles) frequently using a
- normal cleaning product
- Try to avoid close contact with infected people
- Report to your manager any cases of diagnosed swine flu in any of their close
- friends or relatives
- Stay at home if you are ill and avoid contact with others as much as
- possible if the swine flu is diagnosed
- Ensure that we have your current emergency contact details
- Dont buy Tamiflu over the internet due to there having been
- incidents of it being fake or potentially unsafe.
- In Short: Catch it, bin it, kill it”
Lynn Tulip is Principal Consultant of ASSESSMENT4POTENTIAL a specialist HR and career management consultancy. Tel: 07801 689801 Website: www.assessment4potential.com You can follow Lynn on twitter – http://twitter.com/A4P_HR
7 August 09