, also found the tests are placing an additional burden on the NHS, in particular GPs. It comes as seven million patients are now waiting to start treatment on the NHS, with 461,400 waiting longer than six weeks for a diagnostic test in August. Most of the companies send the results back to the patient with advice to either 'pay some more money to get some sort of health professional to speak about it or go and see your own GP,' said Bernie Croal, president of the Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine. 'That is coming in when primary care is so stretched, and it will just create a lot of work,' he added. 'Anxiety for the patient' Guidance issued by the Royal College of GPs in 2019 warned private testing companies that they should not assume GPs will deal with the results of their tests. GPs are left in a 'very difficult position' as a result, with patients coming in 'clutching the results of private screening tests', said Ben Lees, a GP in Cheltenham. The tests also run the risk of false positive results, which may create a 'catalogue of unnecessary and potentially invasive tests and anxiety for the patient', the investigation found. Jessica Watson, a GP in Bristol, warned cases of the disease could also be missed through the at-home testing route. 'There's the risk a patient is falsely reassured because they're told there's nothing wrong, but they haven't had the right test and){kind=link}
GPs have warned that the at-home screening kits risk ‘falsely reassuring patients’ who may not seek further help
High street blood tests which screen for cancer and other conditions may be missing cases of the disease, an investigation has found.
Some companies offering private blood tests are making “misleading claims” about their services, which are not backed by evidence, doctors have warned.
In one case, a company was offering eight different genetic cancer risk screening kits, costing between £300 and £800, but the service did not provide any advice alongside the test to explain the implications of the result.
The investigation, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), also found the tests are placing an additional burden on the NHS, in particular GPs.