By Jenny Hope
Last updated at 8:04 AM on 11th September 2009
Winning the battle: A person entering a clinic during the swine flu outbreak - the Government says they are close to beating the pandemic
Britain is 'tantalisingly close' to winning the fight against swine flu, the Government's chief medical officer has said.
Sir Liam Donaldson said the Health Service had got into a strong position to tackle the H1H1 virus by ordering vaccines and antivirals.
'I think we are tantalisingly close to being able to win the battle against this pandemic,' he said.
But he cautioned that there was still much to do to combat the spread of the infection.
'Tantalising does not mean we can always get there, but we are still fighting and are not staring into the jaws of defeat yet,' he added.
His comments came as health chiefs yesterday unveiled plans to double the number of intensive care beds, to cope with an expected surge in cases, which could strike as early as October.
Ten health authorities have pledged to double capacity to treat the seriously ill, taking the number of adult beds up to 4,000. The number of intensive care beds for children will also double to about 700.
Specialists warned in July that the H1N1 virus could overwhelm intensive care units at its peak, because the NHS is already working at capacity in this area on most days.
The Government's director for flu resilience, Ian Dalton, said authorities would also increase the number of ventilators for severely ill patients.
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