PSOJ and MAJ call on government to allow private doctors to do COVID-19 tests

There's a call for the government to allow private doctors to carry out tests for covid-19 at their offices.

 

A joint statement from the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ) says the introduction and wider availability of COVID-19 Antigen testing is essential to controlling the pandemic.

 

The groups say rapid antigen testing at the point-of-care has proven useful in reducing the diagnosis time for symptomatic persons, worldwide.

 

MAJ President Dr. Andrew Manning tells Radio Jamaica News private doctors would need guidance from the health ministry "in terms of having the requisite biosafety profiles in place and to ensure that the actual test kits that is (sic) used is appropriate for use in our setting." 

 

Dr. Manning notes with the continued spike in COVID-19 cases nationally, there has been increasing pressure on the country's laboratory testing capacity.

 

"The bottom line ...is that we're going to need a lot more testing to be done to meet the demand. 'Cause is not just for surveillance purposes. You have persons who need the test for purposes of travelling...occupational health and safety reasons. And so we need to get in front of this thing and have a channel set up so that persons, particularly doctors, can aid in this by doing it properly," Dr. Manning explained.