There were calls for NHS staff on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic to be tested as a priority yesterday to ensure as many are at work as possible.
Anyone showing symptoms is being urged to self-isolate for seven days but politicians yesterday said fast-track testing of doctors and nurses would allow them to return to work more quickly if they do not have the virus.
Hospitals were continuing to plan for hundreds of seriously-ill victims as officials revealed the number of Scots testing positive for coronavirus rose from 85 on Friday to 121 yesterday – the largest 24-hour rise so far. Experts estimate positive tests so far are only the tip of the iceberg, however, with thousands now infected. Meanwhile, deaths linked to the virus across Britain more than doubled from 10 to 21.
Frontline staff fear the already stretched health service will be overwhelmed as the virus tightens its grip on Britain. Doctors in Italy, which has been the worst-affected European country so far, compared the spread of the virus to a wildfire and those with respiratory problems or underlying health problems are particularly at risk.
One doctor at a Lothians hospital warned if every doctor and nurse showing symptoms isolated for a week, the strain on frontline services would become intolerable.
She said: “It is hard enough when we are fully staffed. Take a fifth of us out in the middle of a pandemic and I don’t know where we’d be. I never want to know. The prospect of staff staying at home for a week when they don’t have coronavirus is a nightmare. Of course, if we have symptoms we need to go home but, if we haven’t got it, we need to be back as quickly as possible. If we don’t have it, we need to be here.
“Testing us as a priority would allow us to be back at work in a day or two instead of seven.”
Another hospital doctor who works in a different health authority said: “If anyone with cough or cold-like symptoms self-isolates there will not be enough staff to get through this.”
Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Monica Lennon MSP called for priority testing: “Should doctors or nurses develop mild symptoms, it makes sense for them to have access to rapid testing.
“If they test negative for the virus, they won’t need to self-isolate.
“We need to do everything possible to maximise our NHS workforce and take every step to support and care for those who care for us.”
Scottish Greens MSP Alison Johnstone said: “Testing doctors and nurses seems a sensible approach given these professionals are likely to come into direct contact with patients who have the virus.”
Meanwhile, concerns over the lack of proper protective equipment for GP practices continued, as it emerged it will be Friday before all surgeries are issued with masks, gloves and aprons.
Last week the Sunday Post told how surgeries have only been issued with 50 face masks, while GPs in England have been told they’ll get full PPE.
Dr Andrew Buist, chair of the BMA’s Scottish GP committee, said PPE can’t come soon enough.
He said: “Given that the number of cases of Covid-19 are now rising daily, I would expect the Scottish Government and health boards to ensure that all GP practices across Scotland have the appropriate fitted PPE as quickly as possible.
“I met with the Scottish Government earlier this week and they assured me that supplies would reach practices this week.”
Dr Buist said many patients are ignoring official government advice to stay away from GP surgeries and self-isolate for seven days if they have a temperature or a new, persistent cough – the symptoms of the virus.
He warned that GPs could transmit the virus unless they get PPE, which would protect them and patients.
He said: “GPs and their practice staff are at the frontline of primary care. Despite clear messaging that anyone who believes they could have coronavirus should not attend their GP practice in person, people are still presenting themselves – and this will happen more often now that we are seeing community transmission of the virus.
“Therefore it is vital that all GP practices across the country have the correct PPE as soon as possible – not just for the safety of practice staff but for the safety of all other patients.”
GP practices are changing the way they work to delay the spread of coronavirus. Some are closing their doors and offering more telephone consultations.
Others have cancelled blood tests, smear tests and routine blood pressure checks for several months, according to Dr Andrew Buist.
He said: “Having moved from the contain phase into the delay phase of the Covid-19 pandemic it is clear that this will have an impact on the services that GPs will be able to provide.
“We hope that the public will be patient and understanding.”
The Scottish Government said: “We have well-rehearsed procedures in place to deal with infections of this kind. The NHS has a proven track record of dealing with challenging health issues, and we have been preparing for a positive case since the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan.”
Most sport and other public events have been cancelled this weekend and the Scottish Government has banned outdoor gatherings of more than 500 from tomorrow.
Writing in the Sunday Post today First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “At all times we will be guided by expert medical advice.
“Things will return to normal, and we will get through this, but people need to be prepared to live their lives differently for some time to come.”
Meanwhile, the UK’s approach to developing “herd immunity” against Covid-19 has been called into question by the World Health Organisation as other countries take more restrictive action. Many have closed schools while France last night said all “non-essential” public buildings would be closed.
Experts have called for Downing Street to release the modelling official scientists are using to justify their attempts to avoid a sudden rise in cases that would overwhelm the NHS.
World Health Organisation spokeswoman Margaret Harris said not enough is known about the science of the coronavirus, and that while “theories” can be talked about, the current situation requires “action”.
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