£100 tests for Strep A cash in on parents’ anxiety, say GPS

PARENTS have been warned not to “waste” their money on tests for Strep A being sold online, after it emerged some are being priced at more than £100.

The tests, which are not available on the NHS in England but are in Wales for £7.50, have been in demand, following the death of at least 16 children from the invasive bacterial infection.

The kits, which are similar to a PCR test, are being sold by profiteering online retailers for as much as £80 or £100 and yet some have reportedly sold out amid the rise in demand.

One London GP has hit out at the high price being charged by some online retailers, branding it a “moneymaking scheme”.

Dr Zoe Watson, a London-based

‘They wrap it up as a nice way to ease your fears – but it’s just a money-making scheme’

locum GP and founder of Wellgood Wellbeing, a social enterprise platform, said: “I certainly wouldn’t advise buying a test online or getting a private £80 strep test”, as patients with the infection would still need to be seen by a GP.

“I don’t like it when some private providers cash in on people’s anxiety like that,” she added.

“They wrap it up as a nice way to ease your fears – but it’s just a money-making scheme,” Dr Watson said.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has previously said the accuracy of a number of the tests is uncertain and results are likely to be “highly variable”.

Maria Jones, 45, from Aberdeen, said her GP told her not to buy a Strep A test when she consulted him over a sore throat, spots in her mouth, coughing and a temperature. “He told me not to waste my money, saying they are not accurate.”

The majority of Strep A infections can be treated with antibiotics, with penicillin the preferred course of medication.