30,000 coronavirus symptom reports in Oxfordshire

NHS England data shows 33,620 occasions when someone in the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group area logged possible Covid-19 symptoms with the NHS 111 service from March 18 to May 14.

The figure is more than 15 times larger than the official number of confirmed cases of the virus in Oxfordshire – 1,947 by 9am on Sunday.

The vast majority of the NHS 111 figures (81 per cent) were through online assessments, with the remaining 19 per cent reported over the phone.

In Oxfordshire, 56 per cent came in the final two weeks of March, with only eight per cent reported in the first two weeks of May.

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The figures do not show how many were told to self-isolate compared to being passed on for further assessment or treatment.

A note with the NHS England data does stress it is 'not a count of people', adding: "In 111 online, any user that starts and launches the Covid-19 assessment services is indicating they may have symptoms of coronavirus.

"They may have accessed the service multiple times with different symptoms."

If symptoms are mild, people will usually be advised to not leave their home for at least seven days, with anyone who lives with them not to leave for 14 days.

Difficulty breathing, or other serious symptoms such as having blue lips, or becoming confused or very drowsy, prompt an emergency call-out.

Separate figures, meanwhile, show that while there were high numbers contacting NHS 111 about Covid-19, the figure is falling.

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Across the whole Thames Valley, the 111 helpline received a total of 15,698 calls in April. This was 61 per cent less than it did in March, when there were 40,026.

Sarah Scobie, the Nuffield Trust’s deputy director of research, said the 111 tool was ‘essential’ to keep patients with suspected Covid-19 symptoms safe, and those who seek advice on other conditions.

She said: “This month’s data suggests that the NHS 111 service is less in demand this month, and better able to take the pressure off frontline services.

“A high number of NHS 111 calls and the fall in hospital attendances suggest that people are still making careful choices about going to hospitals."

She added: “There are now legitimate concerns that those who do require urgent medical treatment may be put off from seeking help due to fear of infection or a desire to reduce pressure on overstretched health and services, despite some reassurances from the NHS that these services are still open.”

Of the calls taken last month, two per cent were abandoned by callers kept waiting for 30 seconds or more.

This was an improvement on March, when 27 per cent were abandoned, but a rise on the ​one per cent from last April.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS medical director, said the 111 service performed strongly in April, rebounding from the pressure it faced in March.

Changes made to the official list of NHS symptoms yesterday, to include a loss of taste and smell, could lead to a renewed increase in those logging suspected cases.

Professor Tim Spector, head of the department of genetic epidemiology and leader of the Covid symptom study app at King’s College London, has said 50,000 to 70,000 people in the UK with Covid-19 are not being told to self-isolate.

He blamed Public Health England and the wider tracking strategy, saying an insistence that only temperature and cough were the major symptoms was missing thousands of cases.

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He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday that 1.5 million people were logging onto the King’s app and tracking a wide range of symptoms and changes.

He said: “It tells us that we’ve got at least 100,000 cases at the moment of people who are infected. And this is from our data, although the NHS would underestimate that because they’re not counting all the symptoms.

"We list about 14 symptoms which we know are related to having a positive swab test, and these are not being picked up by the NHS.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock also announced yesterday that everyone aged five and over is now eligible for a coronavirus test if they display any symptoms.

People can visit NHS.uk/coronavirus to book a test.