Northern Ireland’s first dedicated GP-led Covid-19 assessment centre is expected to re-open this morning after being forced to close when 40 nurses became ill or had to self-isolate.
The centre at Altnagelvin Hospital opened last Wednesday to move the assessments for the coronavirus away from GP surgeries.
The new centre, one of 14 expected to open across the north, was established to assess seriously ill people suspected of having Covid-19 before referring them to specialised wards for testing.
Those referred to the centre after a phone call with their GP have their blood pressure, temperature, oxygen level, respiratory rate and pulse taken to assess if they require testing for the virus.
Health minister Robin Swann, who officially opened the centre, said the facility was vital to ensure GP services could be maintained in the coming weeks and months.
Mr Swann said: “Primary Care Covid-19 Centres are an essential part of the fight against this virus.”
However, the Western Health and Social Care Trust confirmed on Saturday that the Altnagelvin centre had been forced to close due to illness.
Dr Tom Black, chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Northern Ireland said the centre was operating well for the first three days.
However, it ran into problems when 40 nurses were forced to self-isolate either because of their own illness or because a family member was displaying symptoms of suspected coronavirus.
While the centre had its full complement of 12-16 GPs, Dr Black said the problem meant it was unable to operate during its planned hours between 8am and 10pm on Saturday and Sunday. The Derry GP said the problem showed that the testing of frontline medical staff must be a priority.
However, Dr Black was confident the centre would be back in operation with an additional pool of nurses ready for Monday.
A spokesman for the Western Health and Social Care Trust apologised for the closure and thanked patients for their cooperation.
“It is our priority that when the centre is open that we are providing care to our patients in a safe effective and timely manner. Due to some early staffing issues, the centre was closed during the weekend. We are confident that these issues will be rectified shortly and we will be open again from Monday 30 March.”
