Yorkshire doctor who contracted coronavirus had to "fake" symptoms in order to get tested

The resident doctor at Barnsley Hospital, who has asked to remain anonymous, told The Yorkshire Post he began to feel unwell around four days after working on a Covid-19 ward earlier this month, eventually resorting to lying about his symptoms so that he could be tested.

His test results came back positive for the virus.

The doctor said he felt the personal protective equipment (PPE) he was given while working alongside sick patients had not been "enough".

Despite feeling unwell with a loss of senses, sore throat and fatigue, the doctor claims he was allowed to continue working following the advice of Covid-19 Absence Reporting Line staff.

He said: "I first noticed the symptoms four days after working on the Covid-19 ward. I had a loss of smell and loss of taste, as well as a headache and tiredness.

"I was concerned because I'm working with neonatal patients and children, so I picked up the phone and rang our Covid hotline. I spoke to this lady and told her about my symptoms, she said, 'the only symptoms we are concerned about are the temperature and the cough'.

"I hadn't got either of those, but I explained that I did have other symptoms and I had been working on a Covid ward where I felt I wasn't protected enough, and that now I was working with a highly vulnerable group of patients. I was concerned that, if I was positive for it, I might be spreading it.

"She said she appreciated my concerns, but that I didn't fit the criteria for self-isolation and testing."

The doctor said that despite this, he felt pressured to continue working as he felt well enough to do so, despite the symptoms, and that time off sick would be a "bad mark" on his record.

He added: "I wasn't forced to work, but it meant that I wouldn't be able to isolate myself while protected under the Covid-19 sick leave laws, and wouldn't be able to get tested.

"When I raised this with my manager, he told me [the Hospital Trust] were looking into adding the other symptoms to their criteria later. It's something that has to come from way higher up that I have no control over."

The doctor said he eventually felt he "would not be able to live" with himself if he knew he was spreading the virus to other patients.

"My symptoms were not getting any better, I knew for a fact that this was coronavirus. That's when I was forced to say I had a cough and a temperature. I was tested straight away and found out I was positive.

"I believe I did the right thing because, if I hadn't said that, I could have been out there spreading it based on the advice I'd received."

A spokeswoman for Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: "Barnsley Hospital has a dedicated Covid-19 Absence Reporting Line to help ease the burden on managers of staff sickness administration.

"Since March 23, the same administration team has booked staff swabbing for those staff who fulfil the Covid-19 case definition of a persistent cough or high temperature as published in national guidelines. It also offers a checklist of advice for self-isolation and describes the Trust’s sickness reporting procedures, including advice to staff to report to a manager as usual if they are not well enough to work.

"The Covid-19 Absence Reporting Line recommends further help for callers is available via the NHS 111 online assessment.

"Although we cannot comment on individual cases because of confidentiality, we advise any staff who are concerned to contact their manager who will be able to escalate and address their particular cases within the Trust.

“On the question of personal protective equipment (PPE), as a hospital, ensuring our staff have access to PPE is an absolute priority. Our procurement team is critical to the everyday running of the hospital and is working continuously and effectively to ensure we have adequate and buffer stocks of PPE available to our front line staff.

"This approach is working effectively for us and stocks are available.”