Changes to covid testing in the community

If you have ANY of the following symptoms: cold or flu like symptoms, fever (however mild), cough, loss of taste or smell, sore throat and are considering contacting the surgery for advice or treatment, then a lateral flow test will be required to support clinical decisions during your care and treatment pathways. In this circumstance, please visit the GOV.UK website and request a lateral flow test – and you can tick the box to confirm that a clinician has requested this.

If you fall in to the category above and suspect Covid-19 infection – we would completely support your decision to request a test. Therefore you can tick the box accordingly **

From 1st April, lateral flow testing devices (LFDs) will no longer be freely available to everyone to order from the gov.uk website. They will be available to buy from pharmacies, and some people will be able to get free LFD tests even when they do not have symptoms – this applies to people who are immune suppressed, and to frontline healthcare workers who still need to test twice weekly before coming to work.