"There's a disconnect between GP and 111 advice", says dad of son tested for coronavirus
28 February 2020, 18:12 | Updated: 28 February 2020, 18:14
This dad, whose son was in a coronavirus assessment pod, told Shelagh Fogarty that he keeps getting conflicting information from the GP and 111 helpline and now doesn't know where to turn.
The caller Simon told Shelagh how his teenage son was in an NHS coronavirus assessment pod as they spoke after returning from a school trip to northern Italy.
His wife has gone in there with their son and the "irony" is she's not being tested, said Simon.
Simon found a disconnect between his GP and the 111 advice line: "If he has got the virus, obviously we're going to end up potentially getting it. But if he hasn't got the virus, the disconnect we've found.... is how do you treat someone who's sick?
"He's not allowed to go to his GP because they won't allow him to go there - if it's not the virus how does he get the current illness dealt with?"
The caller told Shelagh it was nigh on impossible to keep his teenage son isolated with three other children in the house.
"It's very difficult to get information... you're sent round the houses when you go to the GP, on 111," he said, "as I'm speaking a masked person has gone into the pod to take the test. We just need advice to follow. We keep getting cut off from 111.
"The problem is, he's been with us, the rest of my kids are going to the same school he's now isolated from...it's almost like a vicious circle."
