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Comment on Coronavirus testing of primary care staff

We have issued the following comment from Dr Michelle Drage, CEO, Londonwide LMCs, in response to problems with primary care staff accessing Coronavirus testing:

“With demand for GP services growing even as hospitals are further limiting access to specialisms and A&E, it is even more critical that primary care staff are given access to testing to enable them to work and help patients as the second wave of the pandemic begins to grow. 

“Increased testing has revealed that coronavirus is circulating widely and escalating, with primary care staff among the most likely members of the population to be infected, and the potential that they in turn become super-spreaders, many GPs and their teams face an ethical situation where going to work with even minor respiratory symptoms may risk infecting countless vulnerable patients. 

“As parents and partners, healthcare professionals are equally bound by Government infection control guidelines regarding isolation if possible Coronavirus symptoms are exhibited in their household.  Without adequate fast track testing for healthcare professionals, commonplace winter cold symptoms could lead to the collapse of general practice services. And all that that would bring with it.”

Press office contacts can be found here.

Last updated : 23 Sep 2020

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