Pharmacy chief defends £125 test for coronavirus
A private medical practice has explained why a Bath pharmacy it owns is charging £125 for Covid-19 laboratory tests.
Lifestyle Pharmacy, on Westgate Street, has been displaying a sign in its shopfront which reads ‘Covid-19 lab testing available from £125, including post and packaging.’
A Bath resident told the Chronicle the price tag was a “rip-off”.
But the chief executive of Citydoc Medical Limited, the company which owns Lifestyle Pharmacy, has explained why they cost that much.
Dr Eoghan Macsweeney said: “The price of £125 may seem high, but reflects lab costs, technician time, medical support and standard retail costs.
“Indeed, there are people still illegally selling tests online with a self-collection device.
“The medicines and healthcare products Regulatory Agency has made explicit instructions that tests can only be sold to the public if the blood sample is collected from the vein, if either Abbott or Roche testing devices are deployed.”
This month, the Government ordered 10 million antibody tests to be rolled out over the coming months. It did this after striking a deal with Swiss firm Roche and pharmaceutical company Abbott to supply the tests.
Dr Macsweeney said: “Lifestyle Bath has been one of our pharmacy partners for a decade and in this time has provided an excellent pathology and vaccine service,” he said. We can now offer a Covid-19 antibody test in our pharmacies.
“The test is assessed in our partner lab in London using Abbott’s Covid-19 assessment technology.
“The test is one of two devices Public Health England has approved for testing in the NHS.
“NHS workers are to receive testing in the coming weeks.
“There is no plan at present for widespread antibody testing.
“Antibodies are evidence of past infection and will help us understand the behaviour of the virus and our immune response to the same. The test must be carried out in a clinic or under supervision of a technician that can draw blood from the vein.
“The test we offer is carried out in a pharmacy, where a trained phlebotomist is deployed to extract blood from the vein.
“The sample is then sent to London for assessment and is reported on by a doctor-led team.”
The pharmacy said results come in three to five days, that all testing is assessed at its United Kingdom Accreditation Service certified lab and is suitable for work and for travel visas.