Thousands call NHS Direct in poisoning fear

Thousands have been in contact with NHS Direct fearing they may have been contaminated by the radioactive material used to kill former spy Alexander Litvinenko.

An NHS Direct spokesperson told E-Health Insider that since Litvinenko’s death on Thursday, they have had almost 700 calls and 5000 people visiting their website.

“So far our figures for calls, based on manual collection, are around 500 over the weekend and 189 between midnight Sunday to 1pm yesterday. Website visits for Saturday were: 2,201 and for Sunday: 2625.”

Litvinenko’s death has been linked to the presence of a “major dose” of the radioactive isotope polonium-210 in his body. The Health Protection Agency has urged anyone who fears they might have been contaminated to contact NHS Direct.

A Health Protection Agency spokesperson added: “We want to reassure the public that the risk of having been exposed to this substance remains low. It can only represent a radiation hazard if it is taken into the body – by breathing it in, by taking it into the mouth, or if it gets into a wound. It is not a radiological hazard as long as it remains outside the body. Most traces of it can be eliminated through hand washing, or washing machine and dishwasher cycles.”

NHS Direct told EHI that they had formulated a clinical decision strategy to ensure that only serious cases of suspected poisoning were referred to doctors.

“In dealing with the radiation alert, we developed a three-step system to try and keep the patient assured. All callers were asked whether they were calling in relation to the radiation alert and if they answered yes, they were taken through a screening questionnaire supplied by the Health Protection Agency (HPA). Only if through completing the questionnaire the caller was ‘at risk’, their details were passed to the HPA and one of the HPA’s doctors would contact them.”

An HPA spokesperson added: “We have worked closely with NHS Direct staff to ensure that they check for the symptoms of radiation poisoning, primarily diarrhoea and vomiting, ask why the patient feels exposed, find out where they were on 1 November and any other contacts they have had since. Only in the most serious cases would patients be referred to our doctors.”

To date, three people have been sent for urgent examination, which will involve a routine radiological assessment at a secret London clinic. Eight more people are being questioned about their health and may also be sent for urine tests and radiological assessments. Only 18 patients have been referred to the HPA to date from NHS Direct.

Tests have now been carried out at five London locations where traces of the poison were found and it is feared that over 21,000 people could have come into contact with the radiation poisoning.

NHS Direct is urging patients to refer to their ‘Radiation Advice’ webpage for further advice. Anyone who was in the Itsu restaurant, or who was in The Pine Bar or the restaurant of the Millennium Hotel on 1 November should contact them on 0845 4647.