The Portchester Practice confirms two of its nurses isolating as they wait coronavirus test results

The Portchester Practice, in West Street, hopes to have both nurses back by next week.

One of the nurses has been forced to isolate after being contacted through track and trace while it is hoped the other nurse could be back in work on Wednesday – with the test result imminent amid confidence she did not have coronavirus.

‘We are 99.9 per cent confident she does not have coronavirus,’ a spokesman for the practice said.

‘The other nurse was contacted via track and track on Sunday so will hopefully be back in work nine days from then (next Tuesday).

‘Neither (if they have contracted the virus) would have done so at the practice.’

The incidents are not connected to a patient who attended the centre last week before registering a positive Covid test.

The spokesman added: ‘We are extremely careful and even the slightest thought someone may have been exposed leads us to doing testing to eliminate them.

‘The practice is fine and is getting through and dealing with things.’

It has left the practice with one nurse and two healthcare assistants but it is hoped a nurse will join the practice on Thursday temporarily to ease the workload.

It means the practice will have to ‘prioritise’ patients and has urged people to be more tolerant about seeing doctors after receptionists have been left ‘in tears’ following abuse.

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