MORE than 6,000 people in Stoke-on-Trent have been given Tamiflu drugs after fearing they had swine flu, according to latest figures.

But experts say four out of five of them were unlikely to be suffering from the pandemic.

Less than 10 patients have needed hospital treatment, but, after a lull during the summer holidays, NHS officials are braced for a second surge in cases over the next few months.

During the early stages of the outbreak, suspected sufferers were prescribed Tamiflu only if tests confirmed they had the virus.

But, as the bug tightened its grip, helplines were set up allowing people to obtain the drug without visiting their GP or having samples taken and investigated.

Dr Giri Rajaratnam, city public health director, pictured, said: "A number of studies elsewhere in the country show only one in five of those who felt symptoms and received Tamiflu actually had the disease.

"This was found when a sample of people contacting the helpline were followed up and given swabs to check for the presence of the virus."

He revealed health and social services in the city had developed and tested "robust plans" to cope with high sickness-absence rates caused by any second wave.

Addressing a meeting of the Local Strategic Partnership, he said: "Although it is a mild illness, children are particularly prone to it and that will mean NHS and other staff having to stay off work to care for their children at home.

"The University Hospital has therefore planned for an absence rate of between 20 and 50 per cent if things get bad.

"It should be nearer 20 per cent and, although essential services will be protected, some non-emergency services could be delayed by two or three weeks.

"The plans are to cope with a higher sickness-absence rate, lasting between two and four weeks.

"The difference between seasonal flu and swine flu is that, instead of affecting mainly the young and most vulnerable, we are all at risk. But our plans are reasonably robust and while the extreme risk is if the virus mutates, that doesn't often happen."

Dr Rajaratnam said the epidemic had peaked in the city in July and early August, before petering out, but cases had now started to rise again.

Thirty pharmacies were helping distribute Tamiflu and two special centres had been set up, with the potential to open two more.

He said a vaccine was scheduled to be issued to the NHS over the next two weeks ready to cover the whole population in a number of phases lasting a year.

The first phase would include the elderly and people with long-term illnesses, as well as all NHS and social services staff.

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