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Why not NHS test for travel

Why does the pcr test have to come through a private company for travel . Whats wrong with using the NHS pcr tests ? Will anyone know ? 
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  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
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    Why should the taxpayer fund the cost?  
  • i think most NHS employees have better things to be getting on with.....
  • LaHostessAvecLaMostess
    LaHostessAvecLaMostess Posts: 214 Forumite
    100 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 27 November 2021 pm30 9:54PM
    Why does the pcr test have to come through a private company for travel . Whats wrong with using the NHS pcr tests ? Will anyone know ? 
    No, they won't know because you can't use them for Day 2 tests anyway so it'd be pointless to even bother.

    As the NHS PCR tests don't issue codes to put on Passenger Locator Forms (for obvious reasons) you won't be able to fill out your PLF which will almost certainly result in you being denied boarding by the airline, and even if they do let you fly will result in a £500 fine which, last time I checked is considerablly more than the cost of a PCR test.
  • NHS PCR tests are only for people with symptoms of Covid-19 they are not for people choosing to travel.
    People with medical need versus people choosing to engage in travel.
    If someone can afford to travel they can afford to pay for a test.
  • CKhalvashi
    CKhalvashi Posts: 12,129 Forumite
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    Said as a frequent traveller and someone with connections to the industry, why should the NHS subsidise your travel?

    We need to ensure our NHS has all the vital resources for treating disease it can get having been starved of funding for the last 11 years, not using it for unnecessary procedures that are available in a cost effective manner elsewhere.
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  • J_B
    J_B Posts: 6,670 Forumite
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    edited 27 November 2021 pm30 10:57PM
    NHS PCR tests are only for people with symptoms of Covid-19 they are not for people choosing to travel.

    Pedant mode:
    Not quite - we were contacted by Track & Trace a week after returning from abroad and told to take a PCR test. We had no symptoms.
  • zagfles
    zagfles Posts: 21,262 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Chutzpah Haggler
    Said as a frequent traveller and someone with connections to the industry, why should the NHS subsidise your travel?

    We need to ensure our NHS has all the vital resources for treating disease it can get having been starved of funding for the last 11 years, not using it for unnecessary procedures that are available in a cost effective manner elsewhere.
    I don't see why the NHS couldn't provide them at cost for travellers. I only needed lat flow tests, had some spare NHS ones, it seemed silly to have to order private tests rather than use the ones I already had which will now likely be wasted. Besides which, people use the NHS tests for other leisure activities, so why is subsidising someone eg going to a festival OK but not someone who travels?
    BTW if you check the facts rather than propaganda, NHS funding is considerably higher in real terms than 11 years ago, even before COVID, so it's hardly been "starved" https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/nhs-budget

  • The reasons in favour are that the government has given away to their friends spent tens of billions on Covid related measures including throwing away millions of test kits for free - many of which will no doubt rot in cupboards until well after the pandemic.

    These test kits can be used for most reasons including visiting large events etc. Why should travel be excluded?

    Further, if we allow them to be used in travel it reduces the chance of people finding ways around the travel rules.


  • CKhalvashi
    CKhalvashi Posts: 12,129 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    zagfles said:
    Said as a frequent traveller and someone with connections to the industry, why should the NHS subsidise your travel?

    We need to ensure our NHS has all the vital resources for treating disease it can get having been starved of funding for the last 11 years, not using it for unnecessary procedures that are available in a cost effective manner elsewhere.
    I don't see why the NHS couldn't provide them at cost for travellers. I only needed lat flow tests, had some spare NHS ones, it seemed silly to have to order private tests rather than use the ones I already had which will now likely be wasted. Besides which, people use the NHS tests for other leisure activities, so why is subsidising someone eg going to a festival OK but not someone who travels?
    BTW if you check the facts rather than propaganda, NHS funding is considerably higher in real terms than 11 years ago, even before COVID, so it's hardly been "starved" https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/nhs-budget

    I don't agree with the tests being used for events either, and I'm not sure why you have spares. I get a box whenever I'm about half way through the existing box, or around every 2 weeks. I would be open to paid services for both purposes however, but this would not be easy to materialise in reality and we would see increasing levels of fraud (which is causing a gain by deception) by those claiming to have symptoms when they should pay. It is therefore easier and more cost effective to leave this to the private sector.

    You have forgotten from the equation that we have an ageing population and any additional NHS funding is not enough to counter this.
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  • zagfles
    zagfles Posts: 21,262 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Chutzpah Haggler
    zagfles said:
    Said as a frequent traveller and someone with connections to the industry, why should the NHS subsidise your travel?

    We need to ensure our NHS has all the vital resources for treating disease it can get having been starved of funding for the last 11 years, not using it for unnecessary procedures that are available in a cost effective manner elsewhere.
    I don't see why the NHS couldn't provide them at cost for travellers. I only needed lat flow tests, had some spare NHS ones, it seemed silly to have to order private tests rather than use the ones I already had which will now likely be wasted. Besides which, people use the NHS tests for other leisure activities, so why is subsidising someone eg going to a festival OK but not someone who travels?
    BTW if you check the facts rather than propaganda, NHS funding is considerably higher in real terms than 11 years ago, even before COVID, so it's hardly been "starved" https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/nhs-budget

    I don't agree with the tests being used for events either, and I'm not sure why you have spares. I get a box whenever I'm about half way through the existing box, or around every 2 weeks.
    I've got spares because I needed a couple and they come in boxes of 7. Is that OK with you?
    I would be open to paid services for both purposes however, but this would not be easy to materialise in reality and we would see increasing levels of fraud (which is causing a gain by deception) by those claiming to have symptoms when they should pay. It is therefore easier and more cost effective to leave this to the private sector.

    You have forgotten from the equation that we have an ageing population and any additional NHS funding is not enough to counter this.
    Really? A 26% real terms increase since 2010, excluding COVID funding, is not enough to counter the change in age demographics in the last 11 years? Seriously? The population isn't aging that fast!
    Obviously there are other challenges facing the NHS and we could spend ages discussing NHS funding, but when you hear people try to make simplistic points using emotive terms like "starved" or even more stupidly "dismantled" etc, it just smacks of them swallowing political propaganda from those who want to use the NHS as a political football. I've got relatives whose lives have been saved by the NHS over the last few years. That wouldn't have happened had it been a "starved" organisation. It is a wonderful organisation we should all be proud of.

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