Strep A lateral flow tests made available in Wales but not England

STREP A lateral flow tests that cost £7.50 and can tell in less than five minutes if a person has the infection are available on the NHS in Wales, but not in England owing to a lack of funding, it has emerged. The tests help to ensure only people who need antibiotics get them, reassures people with viral infections they do not need drugs, helps fight the rise of superbugs and reduces the number of people seeing GPS.

However, they are not offered by NHS England, who opted not to fund the service, or stocked in English pharmacies. Official figures show 15 children have died of Strep A in the UK, with 13 in England, one in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.

There have been no reported deaths in Scotland.

NHS data also revealed that 111, the medical telephone helpline, failed to answer more than a third (37 per cent) of calls.

Parents concerned about Strep A infections were told to call the 111 helpline first.

Boots, the high street retailer, ran a trial in 2016 at 35 of its pharmacies in Nottingham and London where a Strep A swab kit, which is 98 per cent accurate, was offered to people with a sore throat.

Of more than 2,000 people with a sore throat, 367 required medical attention, 149 needed a swab and 36 were Strep A positive and given penicillin. Eleven people were referred to their GP.

Marc Donovan, director of healthcare development and public affairs at Boots and chief pharmacist when the trial was run, said just under half, 48 per cent, “said if this service didn’t exist they would have gone to the GP”.

The pilot study was presented to the NHS, Mr Donovan said, and funded and adopted in Wales but not Scotland or England.

Surgeries and hospitals across the UK have reported being inundated with children with sore throats.

The tests cost £7.50, while antibiotics cost £10. A GP appointment costs the NHS £33, Mr Donovan added.