The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
WQ.362/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BYDEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 6th OCTOBER 2020
Question
"Will the Minister advise whether hospital consultants are allowed to offer private patients polymerase chain reaction (P.C.R.) tests for Coronavirus; and if so, whether any such tests are processed through the Hospital and Airport laboratories or in the U.K., what charge there is for doing so and whether there is a fixed fee for the patient?"
Answer
Covid PCR tests have now been added to the repertoire of hospital-agreed tests administered through pathology services to private patients. Others would be blood tests or tissue biopsies, for example. The vast majority receiving such Covid PCR tests are pre-operative private patients. Such screening tests would need to be done before surgery or on admission whether the patient having the operation is private or public. Such tests are not performed just because someone may be curious about whether they are positive or not. The tests are processed in the normal way ie through public facilities and, as always, only urgent samples are being done on-Island. The charge for the test of £113 is split between the hospital and the consultant with the cost of the test fully met. The number of such tests is relatively small and does not detract from the non-private response.