Found out today that all magazines and toys have been removed from waiting rooms for clinics at Ryehill health centre on Perth Road. Mother attending the clinic says its a nightmare bringing two kids along because there's nothing for them to do. Managed to ask the midwife at the clinic (Linda) lots of antenatal health questions and she was really helpful. Performed several abdominal palpations and got to play with the hand held Doppler.

Read the following article about H1N1 virus today on the BMJ website:

'Two swine flu call centres in England will close on Sunday with the loss of 1200 jobs reports The Guardian. Demand for Tamiflu has plummeted: it peaked on 27 July with nearly 39,000 authorisations for the use of Tamiflu while on 16 August there were only 3396. According to the HPA there were only 11,000 new cases of swine flu last week and the GP consultation rates have dropped from a peak of 35 consultations per 100,000 of the population to under 5 (similar to the rate in January this year for seasonal flu). 59 people in the UK are reported to have died from the virus so far.

Time for a break?

With everything seemingly back to normal it’s tempting to forget all about swine flu. But we shouldn’t get too comfortable, as the RCGP mentioned in its weekly flu update: this quiet time should be used to prepare for the next wave of flu. But what more can be done? We’ve already had a dress rehearsal this summer and clinicians’ knowledge, skills and organisation regarding swine flu are now fine-tuned. Perhaps the best thing people can do is take a hard earned break to recharge the batteries for the winter ahead."

Wonder whether it will be a problem when the winter comes around and what I'll be able to do to help treat patients with flu like symptoms in hospital.