Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
London Address Details Health Protection Agency South East London Health Protection Unit 1 Lower Marsh London SE1 7NT Date Tel 0203 049 4338 Fax 0207 633 9734 www.hpa.org.uk Dear Head Teacher / Manager, This letter is to update you on swine flu and provide you with some resources that may be helpful in dealing with swine flu. Swine flu is now widespread in the local community and you should be prepared for cases of swine flu at your school or nursery in the coming months. It is important to point out that most people who have swine flu make a quick recovery at home. We are now in a ‘treatment phase’ for swine flu and national guidance has been updated so that school and nursery closures to prevent the transmission of flu are only likely in exceptional circumstances, and preventative antivirals drugs will no longer be routinely offered to large groups of school and nursery pupils. As swine flu is now circulating more freely in the local community, the original measures of providing preventative antiviral drugs are no longer effective, as people may be exposed to the virus outside the school or nursery, or as soon as they have finished a course of drugs. Planning for swine flu There are many actions you can take to plan for swine flu, including making plans for how you would cope when staff go off sick or have to care for others who are sick. Good hygiene is vital to reduce flu transmission. This includes the following: • Covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible; • Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully; • Washing hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from hands to face or to other people; • Cleaning hard surfaces (such as door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product. In advance of having cases of swine flu at your school or nursery, you can ensure that facilities for good hygiene in the school or nursery are optimised (see enclosed checklist) and you can raise awareness of the above measures with children. The HPA website has links to ‘ebug’ educational resources for children that may be useful (www.e-bug.eu). This may be an ideal opportunity to ensure that the school or nursery general infection control policies are up to date, staff are aware of correct procedures, good handwashing facilities are available for staff and children, and cleaning of the school environment (particularly handwashing/toilet facilities) is of a high standard as these measures can help reduce the potential for transmission of infection (including swine flu) within the school or nursery. The resource list has links to further information (e.g. http://www.bog-standard.org/ which gives advice on toilet hygiene). It may also be useful to refer to the infection control section in the updated version of School Health Matters which can be found on the HPA website (see enclosed flyer). Responding to cases If you do have cases of swine flu amongst children or staff, we have included in the resource pack a checklist of actions that you should take. These include optimising hygiene measures, alerting parents and excluding those who have symptoms. There are also posters for display included in the pack and the HPA has worked with the DCSF who have provided a template letter that can be distributed to parents and staff (amend as indicated in the letter before sending). This letter is available from: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/_doc/14123/Model%20letter%201.doc The most important advice is that children who have symptoms of flu-like illness should stay away from the school or nursery and not mix with others outside the home (e.g. in crèches or group social/sports activities) until they have recovered and are free of symptoms. This is to avoid spreading the infection as much as possible. Parents of children with suspected swine flu are advised to call the National Pandemic Flu Service on 0800 15 13 100 or at: www.direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu (this is outlined in the enclosed template letter to parents). More information on swine flu and its symptoms is available at www.nhs.uk or by calling the Swine Flu Information Line on 0800 1 513 513. Certain groups are advised to contact their doctor rather than use the National Pandemic Influenza Service. These are: people with a serious underlying illness; pregnant women; children under one year of age; people whose condition suddenly gets worse, or those whose condition is still getting worse after 7 days (5 days for a child). There is specific advice for pregnant teachers provided by the Health Protection Agency: http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1247816542464) and guidance for schools on pandemic flu is available from the Department for Children, Schools and Families via the teachernet website: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/emergencies/planning/flupandemic/. Up to date information regarding swine flu vaccination is available from http://www.immunisation.nhs.uk/ and http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Flu/Swineflu/InformationandGuidance/Vaccinationprog ramme/index.htm. These links can also be found in the resource information sheet. We appreciate that normally schools and nurseries would contact South East London Health Protection Unit for advice on outbreaks of infectious disease. However, these are exceptional times and during the pandemic you do not need to inform the HPU routinely about swine flu cases, unless: • You have an outbreak of swine flu and have significant numbers of children with underlying disease (such as in special schools) • Any staff or children are requiring critical care in hospital due to swine flu. • You feel that you need further advice If any of these situations occur, please call the South East London Health Protection Unit on 020 3049 4338. We would also like to direct you to the Health Protection Agency website (www.hpa.org.uk) which has a wealth of information. Please click on the ‘swine flu’ section and under the ‘topics menu’, go to ‘swine flu: advice for the public’. Yours sincerely, South East London Health Protection Unit