This site is intended for health professionals only


Eight out of nine UK coronavirus patients discharged from hospital

Eight out of the nine UK patients being treated for coronavirus have been discharged from hospital, NHS England has announced.

The patients were discharged after testing negative for the virus twice, NHS England said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, all those people staying at a dedicated quarantine facility at Arrowe Park after returning from China have left the hospital.

However, more than 100 guests remain in quarantine at the Kents Hill Park Hotel in Milton Keynes, NHS England said.

Eleven out of the 12 GP practices across England that had to close due to coronavirus have confirmed that they have now reopened, including Kingston Crescent Surgery in Portsmouth, which closed on Friday.

However, The Avenue Surgery in Brighton remains shut after it announced via a statement on its website that GP Dr Robert Hacking has been ‘in contact’ with someone who tested positive for the virus.

The practice is offering a limited service of only urgent pre-booked appointments as Dr Roger Winter is now the only doctor available to see patients for face-to-face appointments, it said.

Meanwhile, a survey of more than 500 frontline health professionals, conducted by Channel 4, revealed that 96% of respondents believe the NHS is not prepared to deal with a major outbreak of the virus.

The survey also found that 93% of health workers believe that NHS staff on the frontline are not receiving enough protection from coronavirus.

One pregnant GP told Channel 4 that she is ‘genuinely scared’ by the current situation.

Other healthcare workers reported that patients are receiving ‘unreliable, inconsistent and potentially dangerous’ advice from NHS 111, including ‘high-risk’ patients still being told to see their GP, said the Channel 4 report.

GPs last week voiced concerns that NHS 111 is still directing patients with flu-like symptoms to consult their GP, without asking whether they have travelled from regions worst-affected by Covid-19.

This contradicts NHS England’s official advice, which is that those who may be affected should call 111 and not visit their GP.

Meanwhile, the BMA’s GP Committee urged NHS England that practices should be able to turn off their online booking systems, amid rising cases of coronavirus.