Couple ‘forced to lie’ to get tested
PAIR GET POSITIVE RESULTS DESPITE NOT SUFFERING FROM THE SYMPTOMS HIGHLIGHTED BY THE NHS
A COUPLE claimed they were “forced to lie” about their Covid-19 symptoms in order to get a test, which then came back positive.
Stephen Spark and his wife Sudha said they had both come down with the illness in mid-December.
On December 16, when Mrs Spark applied for a test online she found that she did not have any of the three main symptoms that are required for a free test – a high temperature, new and continuous cough or loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.
The couple said they were convinced they had Covid-19 and so Mrs Spark said she had at least one of the symptoms and received a test, which came back positive four days later.
On December 23, Sudha was rushed in an ambulance to St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, where she was found to have low oxygen levels.
Mr Spark said she asked him to take her home and told him: “If I’m going to die, I’d prefer to die at home.
“She thought she wasn’t going to make it.”
Mr Spark was also suffering from flu-like symptoms at the time and was convinced he had Covid-19 as his wife had already tested positive.
It was only when Mr Spark started having breathing problems that his GP suggested he take a test, but he was still not suffering the three main symptoms so was also forced to “lie” in order to get a test. He also had an ambulance called out, but the paramedics decided his oxygen levels were strong enough to stay at home.
“I was really upset and stressed out,” said Mr Spark.
“We had lots of symptoms, just not the three main ones.
“I fail to understand why in order to get a Covid test – which of course proved positive – we were forced to lie about our symptoms. What madness is this?
“How many people are going undiagnosed and untreated because they don’t have the NHS’s ‘approved’ symptoms?
“And how many people aren’t getting tested because the online form is too long and complex to fill out when you’re seriously ill, or perhaps don’t have good English comprehension?
“My criticism of the testing process doesn’t in any way extend to frontline NHS hospital, GP surgery and London Ambulance Service staff, who have all been superb.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “An expert scientific group keeps the symptoms of Covid-19 under review as we increase our understanding of the virus. Anyone experiencing the main symptoms of coronavirus – a high temperature, a new continuous cough, or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste – should get a test as soon as possible.”