Council Slow off the Mark over Swine Flu Info for Parents

A Liberal Democrat Councillor whose son's school was hit by the swine flu bug stepped in to ensure parents received vital information on the virus after finding that Bedford Borough Council had no procedure in place to do so. Putnoe Ward Cllr Sallyanne Smith said that she was surprised and disappointed that the Council had not thought to issue general information through schools about the risks to children and how they can protect themselves against the spread of the virus.

Commenting, Cllr Smith said: "Putnoe Lower School was very quick to alert me, as a parent, that a pupil at the school had been diagnosed with the virus. However, the school was not able to circulate any standard information to parents about what precautions they can take, the risks to their children and what symptoms to look out for. As a result, the school was inundated with questions from concerned parents, who did not know, for example, whether they should withdraw their children from school, or what to tell them about protecting themselves.'

"I immediately contacted the council, who did then circulate a standard letter, together with Health Protection Agency Guidance, swiftly to all schools. This has obviously helped put parents at ease as to what precautions they can take to protect their children and to help prevent the spread of the virus. I was surprised, however, that this was not done previously, before confirmed cases began appearing and concern grew. The growing risk of the spread of swine flu has hardly been a secret, to say the least. Parents are, quite correctly, sent a steady stream of letters about other health issues such as head lice, so it is disappointing that early warnings and guidance about swine flu were not circulated sooner by the council."