{"value":{"id":1237484,"askingMemberId":4839,"askingMember":null,"house":"Commons","memberHasInterest":false,"dateTabled":"2020-09-24T00:00:00","dateForAnswer":"2020-09-28T00:00:00","uin":"95250","questionText":"To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of permitting GP practices to administer covid-19 tests on their own staff to reduce waiting times for (a) such staff and (b) members of the general public at covid-19 testing centres.","answeringBodyId":17,"answeringBodyName":"Department of Health and Social Care","isWithdrawn":false,"isNamedDay":false,"groupedQuestions":[],"answerIsHolding":false,"answerIsCorrection":false,"answeringMemberId":4527,"answeringMember":null,"correctingMemberId":null,"correctingMember":null,"dateAnswered":"2020-11-25T00:00:00","answerText":"<p>The Department is working with National Health Service and the general practitioner (GP) community to deliver a trial providing swab testing in a small number of GP surgeries across England. We are working with the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners and NHS England to deliver this in a way that works for both GPs and for their patients. Safety is our number one priority and this trial is only being delivered within the existing ‘COVID-19 safe’ working arrangements of GP surgeries which have the appropriate infection control measures in place. This does not replace any of the existing routes for accessing testing – instead it adds to the available routes. The aim of this is to make it as easy as possible for everyone who needs a swab test to get one.</p>","originalAnswerText":"","comparableAnswerText":"","dateAnswerCorrected":null,"dateHoldingAnswer":null,"attachmentCount":0,"heading":"Coronavirus: Screening","attachments":[],"groupedQuestionsDates":[]},"links":[{"rel":"self","href":"/Questions/1237484","method":"GET"}]}