CENTRES SET UP TO TACKLE SWINE FLU; NHS could cancel operations.

Byline: HENRYK ZIENTEK

TWO special centres have been set up to dispense antivirals for swine flu - but people can only go if they have a special reference number.

The collection point in Huddersfield will be at the former Cambridge Road Nursery on Cambridge Road in Huddersfield and will be open each day from 10am to 6pm seven days a week.

In Dewsbury it will be at the Walsh Centre on Town Hall Way, Dewsbury, and open at the same times.

An NHS Kirklees spokesman said: "When people who believe they have swine flu contact the National Pandemic Flu Service they will be given a unique reference number to use to pick up antiviral medication.

"They should then ask a flu friend - a friend or relative who doesn't have swine flu - to go and pick up their antivirals from special antiviral collection points in Kirklees.

"The flu friend must show their own ID as well as that of the patient. The authorisation number and ID information will be checked to ensure it matches the information provided when the assessment of symptoms was completed.'' He stressed: "The Antiviral Collection Points cannot dispense to people with a prescription, only a unique reference number.

"The centre will not provide an assessment service and people will not be able to obtain their unique reference number at these sites - only through the National Pandemic Flu Service.'' Outside the hours of 10am to 6pm, antivirals are dispensed from Greenhead Pharmacy on Greenhead Road, Huddersfield (8am to 12 midnight Monday to Friday, 10am to midnight on Saturday); Asda at Brackenhall (8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday); Tesco on Viaduct Street (8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday).

Meanwhile, the health service has robust plans in place to cope with a shortage of workers due to swine flu.

But NHS Kirklees admitted it would freeze non-urgent health services if the need arose.

Planned surgical procedures could be the first casualty if swine flu hits a large proportion of its workforce.

The NHS Kirklees spokesman said: "It depends how things progress. In terms of non-urgent elective operations, it might be these are re-arranged if pressures increase elsewhere in the system.

"The plans are there, but * SMALL FIRMS at the moment we don't need to implement them."

The comments came as Huddersfield's Chamber of Commerce urged all businesses to take steps to keep swine flu at bay.

Special advice for cleaners and cleaning companies has been issued in the wake of the outbreak - while a business group in Huddersfield has urged firms to put hygiene high on the agenda.

Steven Leigh, head of policy at the Lockwood-based Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "The worry is not for the bigger firms, but for the smaller companies where the loss of one or two members of staff to illness can have a serious impact.

"Without underestimating the potential of this thing, there is a consensus that the people most at risk are the very young or people with existing underlying health problems.

WORRY: Steven Leigh While it is serious, we have 'ordinary' flu all the time and even that can have an effect." Mr Leigh said the British Chambers of Commerce was preparing to issue advice on swine flu to members, but said: "We would agree with the advice being issued by other agencies about following basic hygiene procedures, such as washing hands regularly and disposing of tissues properly."

Peter Clutterbuck, operations director of waste management and cleaning company Waste Efficiency Ltd, said companies should ensure that cleaners emptied bins daily and wiped over items like desktops, computer keyboards and telephones every day.

"Although tissues seem to the focus for contamination, the virus only lives in these for about 30 minutes," he said.

"However, hard surfaces like desks and keyboards and hard items in bins like drink cans could harbour the virus for up to two days."

Employers should ensure soap is always available in washrooms and encourage staff to wash their hands regularly, he said.

Bosses could also provide disposable tissues for staff and customers and encourage people to use them to trap coughs and sneezes before disposing of the tissues promptly in a bin.

CAPTION(S):

SMALL FIRMS WORRY: Steven Leigh NEW CENTRE: The former Cambridge Road Nursery on Cambridge Road is an antivirals collection point