Few patients receive anti-flu drugs on time.(Brief Article)

Only a fifth of patients eligible for anti-flu drugs manage to see their GP in time to benefit from them, according to research.

The Trent-based study found that 24 out of 117 at-risk patients who presented with flu-like illness saw their GP within 36 hours of disease onset.

In contrast, almost half (47 per cent) of the 149 at-risk patients attending an out-of-hours centre were seen within the 36-hour period stipulated by NICE in its guidance on the use of zanamivir (Relenza).

Data was collected from 28 GPs in Trent PCG, and one out-of-hours centre, serving a population of some 60,000 patients.

The researchers estimated that, based on the …