South West London CCG ran their first diagnostic outreach clinic in the community supported by our Point of Care Testing (POCT) team testing at-risk groups for diabetes. The clinic was run at a Shree Ghanapathy Temple in Wandsworth where 34 members of the community were tested. Of that 34, 32 had abnormal results and two were even sent straight to A&E, highlighting the value of carrying out this kind of testing.
GPs and CCGs are very keen on carrying out testing in the community as it is a great way to identify people who would not usually go to their GP or to hospital to be tested. The plan going forward is to run more outreach clinics to test people for both diabetes and cholesterol. While members of the POCT were at this event, future events will be run by community and district nurses and the POCT team will supply the analyser and reagents and support with all aspects of governance and quality assurance.
POCT Manager and Network Lead Haval Ozgun says, “It was great to be at what will hopefully be the first of many community diagnostic events. This kind of event highlights the value of POCT testing and the results of this first batch of testing show how important it is to reach these groups and to identify those at risk so that they can receive appropriate treatment early and prevent the deterioration of their health.”