Fears coronavirus patients missed by NHS 111 as symptom checker gives wrong advice
THERE are fears coronavirus cases may have been missed amid problems with the online symptom checker.
Britons concerned they may have the deadly bug are urged to use the NHS 111 online service as the first port of call.
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However, issues with the service highlighted today have prompted fears hundreds of Covid-19 cases may have been missed.
Among the problems is that the symptom checker is not advising people returning from Italy to self-isolate.
Another concern is that people with symptoms are only being told to call 111 if they have travelled abroad.
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On the NHS 111 website, users are asked a series of questions, including whether they have been to high-risk countries such as China or Italy.
They are also asked whether they have come into contact with someone who has travelled to countries with outbreak.
The next question is about whether you have been in contact with a confirmed case.
Users are then asked whether they have experienced a fever, cough or shortness of breath.
Those answering yes are then told: “As you have not been to an area with a serious outbreak and have not been in contact with someone with a confirmed case, you don’t need to speak to 111.
“But you can use 111 online to check symptoms not related to coronavirus and find out what to do next.”
Downing Street has acknowledged problems with the NHS 111 online symptom checker service not advising people returning from Italy to self-isolate.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “They are aware of the problem and that information is being urgently updated.
“Obviously we have been setting out very clearly in public what the travel advice is in relation to Italy, both travelling to the country and returning from Italy.
“I’m aware of the issue and it is being urgently resolved.”
Downing Street said the authorities had the power to require people to self-isolate if they refused to follow the “sensible” advice they were being given.
“The vast majority of people have been following the sensible advice which medical and scientific experts have been issuing,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
“There is a power which exists – that was passed following the return of the first repatriation flight from Wuhan – which means that if it’s believed that there is a potential threat to public health a person can be required to self-isolate.”
The spokesman said that “if the judgment was that there was a threat to public health then there are steps which can be taken”.
The Sun Online has also contacted NHS England for a comment concerning the 111 online service.
People have taken to social media to express their concerns about the online symptom checker.
Kishan Rajdev, a doctor in Birmingham, tweeted the chief medical officer to say that “rigid” NHS 111 criteria were likely meaning thousands of cases were going unreported.
He said: “While the epidemiologists are doing a great job of contact tracing, we as HCPs [healthcare workers] need a way to refer patients for coronavirus testing as the rigid NHS 111 criteria are likely missing thousands of cases.
“How will you empower HCPs and crowd-source contact tracing?”
Sam Freedman, a former senior policy adviser at the Department for Education, tweeted: “Unfortunately I have a cough and a fever.
“Turns out I can’t get a test because I haven’t been to any affected countries or come into contact with a known case.
“‘Even though I have been through an airport and to a concert.
“This seems a major flaw in the testing system to say the least. I am self-isolating for the time being.
“If I do have it it doesn’t seem to be a serious case. Not yet anyway.”
People are advised to use this service if:
- You think you might have coronavirus
- In the last 14 days you’ve been to a country or area with a high risk of coronavirus – see our coronavirus advice for travellers
- You’ve been in close contact with someone with coronavirus
Health bosses say people should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital if you answer yes to any of the above questions.
Call 111 if you need to speak to someone instead.