The new outpatient clinic for swine flu at the Amsterdam Slotervaart Hospital is contrary to government policy. Minister Ab Klink of Public Health thinks the flu outpatient clinic is "superfluous", and the general practitioners are not happy with it either.
Yesterday the hospital opened the doors of the special outpatient clinic opened to people who suspect they are infected with the Swine flu † Doctors examine the patients using a questionnaire and a test of the throat mucosa. Within an hour they can say whether there is a high chance that someone has caught the H1N1 virus. A definitive answer will follow within a day. General practitioners can refer patients to the outpatient clinic, but patients can also go there on their own.
According to the latest guidelines from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), only risk groups (seriously ill , people over 65, pregnant women, children under the age of five, diabetes patients and people with a weak immune system). This is because the course of the flu is usually mild. But the Slotervaart Hospital test anyone who thinks they may have the flu virus. The hospital thinks the policy is too wait-and-see and wants to remove unrest among citizens.
Health Minister Ab Klink says today that he has the flu poli “superfluous” finds. “I would recommend to everyone:go to the doctor”, says Klink. The National Association of General Practitioners is also not excited:"If people think they are ill, they should not sit in the waiting room, but stay home and call the GP," a spokesperson told de Volkskrant. “That is to prevent people from infecting each other .”
