BA passengers 'not getting help'

Some 33,000 passengers travelled on the affected planes

Travellers on British Airways flights affected by a radiation alert say they are not being given enough help.

BA is trying to contact 33,000 people after radioactive traces were found on two planes, and has told passengers on named flights to contact NHS Direct.

But passengers who have rung NHS Direct say they have been given little advice. Britons abroad have been told no help can be given to people outside the UK.

NHS Direct told the BBC that too little was known to provide specific advice.

The public health risk is thought to be low.

'Very worried'

Nora Kaissi, from north London, told the BBC News website she was very worried about the potential danger to her health, but could get no information on what to do.

They are saying low risk - but there's a big difference between that and no risk Nora Kaissi

She and her partner flew from London to Athens on 28 November on one of the 221 affected flights listed on BA's website.

A BA adviser told her to ring NHS Direct. But on getting through she was told that guidance could not legally be given to people not currently in the UK and that no details of symptoms could be provided.

Ms Kaissi, 32, also phoned the British Embassy in Athens but was told staff had no information to give.

"I am very worried," she said. "We just don't know what the risks are. They are saying low risk - but there's a big difference between that and no risk.

"I just wish someone would give us a helpline where we could put our minds at rest."

Ms Kaissi has called for BA to set up helplines in each of the destination countries for the affected flights to help passengers who are still abroad.

Frustrated

Fellow Briton Simon Long, who flew with his wife and two young children from Moscow to London on 26 October, returning to Russia two weeks later, was also told by NHS Direct that no advice could be given because he was abroad.

"It would be nice to be tested just to make sure - especially having children and when you have concerned relatives e-mailing all the time," he said.

EXPOSURE RISK Contact with carrier's sweat or urine could lead to exposure But polonium-210 must be ingested to cause damage Radiation has very short range and cannot pass through skin Washing eliminates traces

"We are not worried - it's just to be able to know there's nothing to worry about. When the information you get [about calling NHS Direct] is wrong, you do worry about what else is right."

Barbara Cooper, in Southend-on-Sea, rang NHS Direct on behalf of her son William, who flew from Moscow to London on 7 November, but was frustrated about the lack of information provided.

"NHS Direct advised me that they know nothing about it and have no advice to give anyone," she told the BBC News website.

Michael Burke, who flew to Istanbul on 2 November, said he had been advised by BA not to call NHS Direct because they could not handle the volume of calls.

He was told to "just keep watching the news", he told the BBC.

Colin Millard, from Oakhanger in the UK, flew from Athens on 24 November. He said NHS Direct had asked him if he had any symptoms, but had not told him what to look out for.

He had effectively been told "we just have to hope for the best", he said.

'High call volume'

In a statement, NHS Direct said its call-centre staff were being updated as more information became available from the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

At present only general advice is available, the statement added. The HPA is continuing to analyse data from the affected aircraft to assess any health risks.

The helpline received five times more calls than normal about polonium on Wednesday evening, NHS Direct said, which "regrettably resulted in a reduced service for some patients".

Many staff stayed on extra hours to help handle the calls, the statement added.

The Department of Health said NHS Direct had been doing "a tremendous job over the last few days under enormous pressure", adding the service had been given the latest information during Thursday.

A British Airways spokesman said: "We are doing our very best to reassure our customers about the situation and apologise to customers if they are not receiving as much information as they would like."