A Little Stoke GP has raised concerns that a swine flu vaccination for the whole population could leave people who are seriously ill at risk.
Simon Bradley, of the Stokes Medical Centre, said that with the H1N1 virus currently showing itself as only a minor illness, it might be best for healthy people to be left out of the inoculation programme.
The Department of Health has announced that people deemed as high risk will be among the first to be vaccinated against the strain of flu from October.
They include those suffering from asthma, diabetes, heart disease, renal disease or with a compromised immune system.
Pregnant women will then follow, depending on licensing arrangements for the two injections.
Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said that there was not enough vaccine to include healthy people at the moment, but the Government was considering extending the programme to healthy groups at some point.
Dr Bradley, who also represents GPs from the wider Bristol area through the Avon Local Medical Committee, said that so far the swine flu virus has not seemed any worse than seasonal flu and that much of the population was not routinely vaccinated against annual outbreaks.
He said: "The danger is that by prioritising swine flu, people with other medical problems will find it hard to get to see a GP.
"We may treat people to prevent swine flu, which is a very low risk illness, but may actually do more harm if we concentrate on that. It is a big risk."
Dr Bradley said that most people with swine flu suffer a fever and feel achy and rotten for a few days, as with seasonal flu. He said: "The good thing is because it is such a mild illness I would think that many people will not want to be vaccinated, even if they are offered it, and I think that would be a sensible decision for people who are not in a particular risk group.
"Swine flu is not much worse than a bad cold in most people and for most people it would be good to build up a natural immunity.
"There is no great argument for vaccinating the whole population against swine flu. Most patients are coping with swine flu very well."
Dr Bradley said that GP practices all have systems in place to ensure that high-risk people will be called for seasonal flu vaccines and these could easily be used for the swine flu programme.
He said that surgeries generally have a flagging system to highlight women who are pregnant, so it should not be a problem to identify the at-risk groups who require injections.
"The fact that we have got to give two injections doubles the work-load. It really is going to be a massive workload.
"But we have time to prepare, providing we are advised by the Department of Health and primary care trusts. In terms of providing extra staff hours to do the work, it is doable," Dr Bradley said.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said that a firm decision on whether the whole population would be vaccinated against swine flu was yet to be made.
She said that the Government was working with the British Medical Association and other GP representatives on swine flu to help decide on the best way of implementing any policies on the virus.
Simon Bradley, of the Stokes Medical Centre, said that with the H1N1 virus currently showing itself as only a minor illness, it might be best for healthy people to be left out of the inoculation programme.
The Department of Health has announced that people deemed as high risk will be among the first to be vaccinated against the strain of flu from October.
They include those suffering from asthma, diabetes, heart disease, renal disease or with a compromised immune system.
Pregnant women will then follow, depending on licensing arrangements for the two injections.
Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said that there was not enough vaccine to include healthy people at the moment, but the Government was considering extending the programme to healthy groups at some point.
Dr Bradley, who also represents GPs from the wider Bristol area through the Avon Local Medical Committee, said that so far the swine flu virus has not seemed any worse than seasonal flu and that much of the population was not routinely vaccinated against annual outbreaks.
He said: "The danger is that by prioritising swine flu, people with other medical problems will find it hard to get to see a GP.
"We may treat people to prevent swine flu, which is a very low risk illness, but may actually do more harm if we concentrate on that. It is a big risk."
Dr Bradley said that most people with swine flu suffer a fever and feel achy and rotten for a few days, as with seasonal flu. He said: "The good thing is because it is such a mild illness I would think that many people will not want to be vaccinated, even if they are offered it, and I think that would be a sensible decision for people who are not in a particular risk group.
"Swine flu is not much worse than a bad cold in most people and for most people it would be good to build up a natural immunity.
"There is no great argument for vaccinating the whole population against swine flu. Most patients are coping with swine flu very well."
Dr Bradley said that GP practices all have systems in place to ensure that high-risk people will be called for seasonal flu vaccines and these could easily be used for the swine flu programme.
He said that surgeries generally have a flagging system to highlight women who are pregnant, so it should not be a problem to identify the at-risk groups who require injections.
"The fact that we have got to give two injections doubles the work-load. It really is going to be a massive workload.
"But we have time to prepare, providing we are advised by the Department of Health and primary care trusts. In terms of providing extra staff hours to do the work, it is doable," Dr Bradley said.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said that a firm decision on whether the whole population would be vaccinated against swine flu was yet to be made.
She said that the Government was working with the British Medical Association and other GP representatives on swine flu to help decide on the best way of implementing any policies on the virus.
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