Table 3 Themes emerged from the data

1. Patient consultations

1.1 high flow of flu patients and worried-well

• surges of people who were concerned they may get sick

1.2 provision of information

• patients seeking personal reassurance

1.3 antiviral treatment

• limited experience in prescribing antiviral drugs (Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and Zanamivir (Relenza))

• prescribing according to strict guidelines

2. Public health responsibilities

2.1 patient segregation

• difficulty of isolating flu patients in primary care clinics

2.2 personal protection

• convenience of using PPE in primary care

• supply of PPE

3. Communication with the health authorities

3.1 communication of policies and guidelines to PCPs

• redundant and conflicting communication from multiple sources

• guidelines - frequently updated, lengthy, not oriented to primary care, conflicting with on-the ground experience

3.2 bottom-up communication from PCPs

• time consuming reporting to the authorities

• no route to provide feedback about the on-the-ground experience to the authorities