Medics organisation in call for all
● The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh survey finds that 83% of doctors have not been tested for coronavirus
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is calling on health boards and trusts to change their guidance for testing medical professionals to include doctors displaying no symptoms of Covid-19.
The move comes after a survey of its members by the College found that 83 per cent of doctors have not been tested for coronavirus, with 81 per cent of respondents saying their employers are only testing staff who display Covidlike symptoms.
Foundation year doctors up to consultants, working in 151 different trusts and health boards across the UK took part in the survey, which the RCSED, which represents 15,000 medics, conducted in partnership with The Doctors’ Association UK.
Of the 378 respondents 68 per cent said that they have colleagues who have developed Covid or Covid-like symptoms in the past two weeks, but only 10 per cent of those medics have then gone on to be tested for the virus themselves.
RCSED recently called on the government to increase the number of “Covid-free hubs” available to allow life-saving operations to be carried out after a survey of its members showed that 87 per cent of cancer surgeons had reduced operations.
While work is now under way in many areas across the UK to set up these hubs, RCSED believes increasing the amount of testing being carried out on health professionals is the only way to create a truly “Covid-light” environment.
Professor Michael Griffin OBE, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, said: “The results of this survey show although more testing is now available, this isn’t translating into tests being carried out on healthcare professionals.
“We appreciate this is an extremely difficult situation, and there have been issues with the availability of tests up until recently.
“More tests are now available, but we need to ensure they arebeingusedmuchmorefrequently and robustly to allow health professionals to continue their vital work and protect patient safety.
“We also need consistency in how official guidance is implemented by Trusts and Health Boards.
“For instance, Public Health England’s official advice for the general public is to self-isolate for seven days if a member of their household displays Covid-like symptoms.
“However, we are aware of a number of NHS doctors who have been advised to carry on working despite being exposed to colleagues without PPE who have developed illness due to the virus. Many have also have been told they will not be tested unless they develop symptoms.
“This disparity in guidance is flawed, and we must increase the amount of testing being carried out to ensure health professionals who are potentially carrying the virus but are asymptomatic are identified so they can self-isolate.”
Almost two in three respondents to the survey said that they were unhappy with the amount of testing being offered by their Trust or Health Board.
Professor Griffin added: “I know from speaking with our international colleagues, in Singapore and Taiwan, for example, that if a member of a surgical team develops Covid-like symptoms, the team is taken off duty and tested, and are only allowed back in a hospital environment if their test result is negative.
“We need to learn from this example and apply this thinking as soon as possible.
“Likewise, there are health professionals who are selfisolating because they are displaying symptoms, but may in fact not have Covid. Testing could allow them to get back to work.”
Professor Griffin said the NHS will be facing a “huge backlog” of operations and the
“In Singapore and Taiwan, for example, if a member of a surgical team develops Covid-like symptoms, the team is taken off duty”
PROF MICHAEL GRIFFIN
only way to work through this will be to identify Covid-free or so-called “Covidlight” environments where these operations can take place. He added: “The only way to ensure these spaces remain as Covid-free as possible is by testing rigorously.
“Appropriately, patients being admitted for an elective operation are being asked to self-isolate for 14 days before coming into hospital and are then tested and checked for any Covid-like symptoms before the procedure can go ahead.
“So the least we can do as the professionals carrying out these operations is to be tested to guarantee we are not carrying the virus.”
What has South Korea done right in its fight against the pandemic?
The UK Government’s deputy chief scientific adviser, Professor Dame Angela Mclean, has praised South Korea for bringing Covid-19 under control in Seoul through extensive testing and contact tracing. This comes after the Korean Centre for Disease Control said last week there were no new domestic cases for first time since February.
Q AWhat did South Korea do?
The country had its first confirmed coronavirus case on 20 January, nine days before the UK reported its first case in York. Private labs were opened up to allow rapid testing and the country instituted drivethrough testing centres. By the end of February, the country was testing more than 20,000 people a day. Positive cases were followed