Asked by the NHS to not get a PCR after a positive LFT today?

[Bigfathairyones]

Hi all,

I've been told by someone I work with that they've been advised by the NHS to not get a PCR today (after they had a daily LFT turn up positive and also started symptoms on the same day). Has anyone else had the same thing happen?

This was announced yesterday as being the new rule www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59878823.amp

I thought you still got a pcr if you had symptoms?

The new rule is from next week though in this case it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck so I can see why a pcr isn't worth bothering with.

It was announced. That's what the government now advise.

Still need a pcr if symptoms

Thanks all, but I understood that the policy was not going to be put into place until next Tuesday? I'm wondering if anyone else has therefore had this said by the NHS today?

It definitely starts next week and you still need a pcr if you have symptoms.
If asymptomatic you will just take your positive lft as a positive and isolate.

Do you work for the NHS? Maybe your friend has made a mistake or their employee has muddled up the dates

Which country?

Hi Givememykeys, no, but I'm the central 'register' (so to speak) for all of our work COVID results. If that's what's being put out by the NHS already, that's fine, but I can't help but think it's slightly unusual to have that in an email 6 days before the new policy is due to start. I've asked for the email copy to check it but my colleague is not very au fait with technology and hence I thought I'd ask if anyone else had had the same sort of email so that I can get a heads up for the next few days of dealing with them.

England

Sounds like someone has probably seen the dates for one of the other nations and assumed England is the same

No you only need pcr if you have symptoms and are negative on lft

@RuthW

Still need a pcr if symptoms

The point of still offering a PCR if you have symptoms is that the PCR is more sensitive and may detect a case where LFT will not.

If the LFT is already positive then what would be the point of following up with PCR only if you have symptoms ? You think the combination of positive LFT with symptoms makes it likely that the PCR will come back negative? It doesn't, the opposite is true.

Givememykeys - possibly, but just seems odd in an official NHS email (according to my lovely, but rather IT illiterate colleague )

Thanks all. I'm not confused on the LFT v PCR debate, just querying the timing of the NHS email, being 6 days pre-changeover of policy.

I think they are saying straight to pcr for symptoms to make sure that people don’t get into habit of using lft for symptoms

If a positive result is reliable when you are without symptoms it must sure as hell be more reliable when with symptoms!

Pcr really should only be for symptoms who test negative on lft given they may be incubating virus

I imagine people will just use lft for all cases.

I thought it started on the 11th jan

@aoeu presumably it's about ensuring they have all the symptomatic cases recorded. Symptomatic is more likely to be contagious and for longer .

[quote shinynewapple21]@aoeu presumably it's about ensuring they have all the symptomatic cases recorded. Symptomatic is more likely to be contagious and for longer .

[/quote]
No, it isn't about recording. They want you to record the LFT positive to the NHS website for record keeping and triggering track and trace. Whether people will bother to do that is another question.

It does start on 11th Jan - DS3 tested positive on LFT today, entered the result and got told to take a pcr which he’s now done.

This is the guidance. There are exceptions to people who don't need a confirmatory pcr
www.gov.uk/government/news/confirmatory-pcr-tests-to-be-temporarily-suspended-for-positive-lateral-flow-test-results