Blood tests to determine if patients need antibiotics are to be rolled out at doctors’ surgeries in Greater Manchester.
Seven GP practices in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale have been testing the new scheme over 12 months.
It is now being rolled out across surgeries, with 28 practices in the areas taking part and more expected to follow.
Patients presenting with respiratory infections are given fingerprick blood tests, which assess levels of C-reactive protein.
This allows doctors to determine whether a patient’s infection is caused by bacteria, or a virus which won’t respond to antibiotics.
