Secrecy on swine flu

Education chiefs were today accused of burying their heads in the sand over the spread of swine flu among Staffordshire's schools.

The council has not been prepared to issue a list of schools that have confirmed cases of the disease despite repeated requests by the Express & Star.

All it would say yesterday was that there were an increasing number of cases of swine flu being diagnosed across the county which inevitably involved school children and members of school staff.

Council spokesman Tom Hobbins said he could not say which schools were affected, but one Stafford school had confirmed its members had been affected.

Robert Simpson, former Labour deputy leader and cabinet member for schools who lost his seat in last month's elections, said that the council was burying its head in the sand by not keeping parents fully informed.

He said it was adding to the worry and helping to fuel rumours by not detailing which schools were affected.

Mr Hobbins said the county council has issued all schools with advice that has come from the Health Protection Agency and local health services.

"This has been passed on to parents by headteachers in the form of a letter distributed last week. This includes practical guidance on how to minimise the spread of all viruses.

"Parents are being advised to keep any children with flu-like symptoms away from school until they are feeling better. If anyone is concerned they should call NHS Direct on 0845 4647."

He said that as swine flu was in a treatment rather than containment stage and people were not being routinely tested, the council did not have details of numbers affected.

But Mr Simpson said the council was not taking firm-enough action. "An open communication plan should have been drawn up to make it clear if there is a problem at a particular school. The council should be doing more to reassure parents and stop rumours spreading which can be destructive," he added.

He said where there was clear evidence of cases at a school, parents should be informed.

"My understanding is that the number of cases in Staffordshire is now in the hundreds," he added.

Blessed Mother Teresa's Catholic Primary School in Somerset Road, Stafford, has sent a letter to all parents which says: "We have confirmed cases of pupils and adults with swine flu."