The private healthcare sector testing for Covid is about to see a huge increase, says professor Frank Joseph

The private healthcare sector testing for Covid is about to see a huge increase, says professor Frank Joseph, medical director at DAM Health and Consultant Physician in Diabetes Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Countess of Chester

With it now appearing more likely the government will allow travel to some EU and further afield countries this summer, the need for accurate testing by trained clinicians is continuing to expand across the UK.

There are several companies offering a range of services, mainly focused around Covid-19 antigen and antibody testing, with the trend of some people preferring to have Covid tests in a clinician environment continuing to grow.

DAM Health have over 20 clinics around the UK with more opening up in the coming weeks, and Frank predicts a rapid acceleration of testing in a wide range of industries from travel and events to large-scale businesses and sport, all which have been badly impacted by the pandemic.

“We are seeing this relatively new industry getting bigger,” Frank says. “At DAM Health we offer same day PCR results which is unique in the field. We estimate at least 250,000 private tests by the end of June, and we have been scaling up our services accordingly to coincide with holidays and travel opening up. We will also soon be working with some major events and helping them administer tests. Testing in general is not going away and there even for anyone with one vaccination dose, these people still should be getting tested. And there are still many millions who have yet to receive their first dose. We are anticipating a really big increase in demand from now.”