A testing oversight allowed a male Covid sufferer to go undetected for two days, and it was only after he asked for help as a non-Covid patient that the original communication failure was detected.
The individual was first tested on Tuesday the 12th but was not informed of the result. He then requested medical assistance on Thursday the 14th and was admitted to hospital. Two days later, still feeling ill and in a general ward, he asked to have a second Covid test, while in hospital. Were it not for the prompt intervention of a health professional in the Accident and Emergency Reception Centre where the man entered as a non-Covid patient, the case could have turned out to have catastrophic consequences.
On investigating the situation, not even the Telephone Answering Screening System (STAT) of the Regional Command for Relief Operations (CROS), and health professionals working on the SRS24 line identified that the man had already tested positive for Sars-Cov-2 test on the 12th of January.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
