PHE to evaluate its guidance against the use of rapid point-of-care tests for COVID-19 in community pharmacies

Public Health England has stated that it’s evaluating its guidance against the use of rapid point-of-care tests for COVID-19 in community pharmacies. In addition, NHS England has announced that before evaluating the use of other testing technologies in the more prolonged-term, there are plans to pilot the amount of laboratory based COVID-19 antigen tests in community pharmacies.

This occurs as NHS England prepares to distribute a pilot in Bradford, which will see community pharmacies provide patients with COVID-19 antigen tests.

Deputy Director of pharmacy commissioning, NHS Improvement and NHS England, Jill Loader, stated: “This is looking at something much more for the longer term to normalise testing. We want to bring testing much closer to local communities. We do not want to send symptomatic individuals to community pharmacy – so please be reassured about that.”