GPs unsure of where local disease clusters are

GPs have told the Guardian they had been ‘totally left out of the conversation’ when it comes to coronavirus tests carried out at privately run drive-through centres in England.

It has been revealed that the results of hundreds of thousands of coronavirus tests carried out at privately run drive-through centres in England have not yet been shared with GPs or local authorities, despite the government promising to share results with individual GP surgeries weeks ago.

Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, has since apologised to local health leaders who have not yet received any detailed data from ‘pillar two’ tests conducted by the private firm Deloitte over the past month. These now form the majority of tests being carried out each day, either at drive-through testing centres or via the post. Professor John Newton, the government’s national coordinator of the Uk coronavirus testing programme, has also apologised for not yet sharing the detailed data, citing ‘data quality issues’.

Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We would expect GPs to receive a timely copy of a patient’s results, particularly if they are positive, so that we can provide appropriate clinical advice for patients – not just about Covid-19, but having a full picture of a patient’s health, including their medical history, will help us to deliver holistic care to them for other conditions and illnesses.”