Almost 5,000 Tamiflu prescriptions have been dished out at Lincolnshire's seven antiviral points over the past 17 days.

But despite the soaring demand for anti-swine flu drugs, NHS Lincolnshire insists it is coping.

"We receive daily information from GP practices, community, hospital and ambulance services regarding the impact on their services and nil pressures have been reported," said Rachael Scoley, spokesman for NHS Lincolnshire.

However GP at the Cliff House Medical Practice in Burton Road, Lincoln, Dr Shaheen Ansari, said he has been deluged with calls from people suffering from flu symptoms.

While some have underlying medical problems and have been told to contact their GP following a diagnosis of swine flu by the National Pandemic Flu Service, others simply want reassurance.

"You can give people all the information but they still ring," said Dr Ansari.

"Since the helpline opened the numbers have decreased but before then we were dealing with double the number of patients.

"But we as doctors are trained to cope with the kind of thing."

But Dr Mick Eames, GP at The Surgery in Market Rasen said that Tamiflu is being handed out too readily as a result of the National Flu Pandemic Helpline.

Initial guidance given by NHS Lincolnshire stated the antiviral drug – which is said to make flu-symptoms milder and shorten the duration of the illness by one day – was to be reserved for those with underlying health conditions.

Yet the Echo has received numerous reports of people who have no existing medical conditions who have been given a unique reference number online via the service and

"People are getting Tamiflu very easily who have not got underlying health conditions or indeed swine flu," said Dr Eames.

The total number of prescriptions given out was 4,738.

For the full story see Friday's Lincolnshire Echo.