A special “drive-thru” coronavirus assessment centre has opened in Dover as part of a wider rollout of sites across Kent.
Located centrally in Dover, in Maison Dieu Road, the centre will only be accessible to people if they have been referred by their GP. Patients will drive into bays at the centre to be assessed by GPs and nurses, with advice given and the most seriously ill transferred straight to hospital.
I have been supporting the Channel Health Alliance on the project – as has Dover District Council, whose officers are helping with parking operations at the site. I went to see the new centre open earlier this week.
I want to say a huge thank you to our local GPs who have been working so hard to get this assessment centre up and running, including all over the Easter weekend. Much of the current focus is on hospitals, but the role of the GP practice is also a vital part of the national fight against the virus.
Across our area, local doctors and health practice staff are working tirelessly to keep people well, particularly those with long term managed conditions, as well as being on the corona frontline. I want to pay special tribute to our GPs, practice nurses and local frontline health professionals who work tirelessly to keep us all as safe and healthy as possible at this time.
We must keep going. We must continue to be disciplined and look out for each other. Together, we will beat this.