Why didn't they tell parents my Georgia had swine flu?

Jun 17 2009 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

A FURIOUS mum last night hit out at council bosses for keeping other parents “in the dark” after her daughter caught swine flu.

Jennifer Hill claims she told staff at Heriot Primary School in Paisley last week that her 12-year-old daughter Georgia Adam had been confirmed as suffering from the virus.

And the 33-year-old mum said she is shocked that, since then, no other pupils have been sent home or given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.

Jennifer told the Paisley Daily Express: “I was told by the school that I was to phone them as soon as I knew what was wrong with Georgia and I did that but none of the pupils have been sent home or given Tamiflu. To me, that just doesn’t seem right.

“Georgia was in school for the whole day last Wednesday when she started feeling unwell, so there is a chance the virus has been passed on to other pupils.

“For the last few days, I’ve been expecting to hear that Heriot Primary was being closed but it hasn’t happened. Other parents have been phoning me to ask what’s going on but it looks like they are being kept in the dark.”

Primary seven pupil Georgia started feeling unwell while she was at school last Wednesday and, when she felt worse the following day, Jennifer took her to see her doctor.

A swine flu test was carried out and health officials then phoned Jennifer on Friday to confirm that Georgia had caught the virus.

Jennifer said she immediately phoned Heriot Primary headteacher Jean Munro to let her know.

Subsequent tests on Jennifer, her partner and her four-year-old daughter Ebony have shown that none of them has swine flu but Georgia is to remain in quarantine at the family home in Paisley town centre until the end of the week.

Jennifer said: “The way Georgia’s health deteriorated was scary. She had a headache last Wednesday and then she was worse the next day, so I phoned the school to tell them she wasn’t coming in.

“She had sore ears and I couldn’t put the light on because she couldn’t stand it. Her body was aching and she had a really bad cough.

“Georgia started to feel better on Monday and it looks like she’s over the worst of it but she is to stay in quarantine until the end of the week and has been given Tamiflu.”

Health chiefs have announced that in areas such as Paisley, where there are large numbers of swine flu cases, diagnosis is now being carried out by GPs rather than through laboratory tests.

In addition, anti-viral pills are now only to be given to the very close contacts of those with swine flu in a bid to prevent the virus developing resistance.

A mum-of-two whose children attend Heriot Primary contacted the Express to claim that, on Monday, the school’s headteacher told her there had been a confirmed case of swine flu.

The woman, who works in a hospital, said: “I’d heard there was a swine flu case at Heriot Primary, so I decided to phone the school and I spoke to the headteacher.

“She told me there was one confirmed case and she was just waiting to hear from the council or health officials before she informed the other parents.

“But when my two kids came home that night, they didn’t have any letters or information about swine flu, which I thought was strange.

“I’ve decided not to let my kids go back to the school for now. I do not want to risk it.”

However, Renfrewshire Council chiefs have defended their actions and insist it wasn’t until yesterday that they received official confirmation of a positive test on a pupil at Heriot Primary.

A spokesperson said: “Parents will be given information through a letter from the public health authorities, as has happened throughout the current outbreak.

“We’d stress that, where pupils are initially diagnosed through clinical diagnosis, that is followed up through laboratory confirmation and we will follow the appropriate public health guidance.”

Paisley has become a hotspot for swine flu, with no fewer than 10 schools across the area being affected.

There have been confirmed cases at Paisley Grammar, Gleniffer High, Castlehead High, St Andrew’s Academy, St Paul’s Primary and Glenfield Nursery, all in Paisley; St David’s Primary and Cochrane Castle Primary, both in Johnstone; St Benedict’s High, in Linwood; and Kirklandneuk Primary, in Renfrew.

On Sunday, Jacqueline Fleming became the first person in Europe to die from the swine flu pandemic.

The 38-year-old, from the Thornliebank area of Glasgow, lost her fight for life at Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.