Pensioner is told to take a 170-mile trip for Tamiflu (From Hereford Times)

Pensioner is told to take a 170-mile trip for Tamiflu

8:00am Friday 7th August 2009 in

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AN EAST Anglian pensioner wanting anti-viral drugs was told to get them in Ross-on-Wye.

Operators at the National Pandemic Helpline stunned Peter Gisby by asking him to drive 170 miles for Tamiflu.

The 67-year-old, from Royston, near Cambridge, phoned the helpline a fortnight ago after his wife, Maureen, caught swine flu.

Experts agreed to a course of drugs – and then stunned the pensioner by saying the pick-up point was in Rosson- Wye.

Mr Gisby believes the handler confused Hertfordshire with Herefordshire and then called his GP. He eventually collected the drugs from Welwyn Garden City, cutting the return journey from six hours to 40 minutes.

“The person on the phone didn’t have a great grasp of English or the county,” he said.

“She said I needed to go to Ross, which is nowhere near, and then suggested Watford, which isn’t much better.”

The Department of Health blamed the misunderstanding on teething problems and believes the system is coping well.