A Croydon GP who was taken by ambulance to hospital with coronavirus is urgently calling for more NHS staff to be tested.

Dr Lydia Osei-Boateng, 41, also claims the lack of essential protective gear for Croydon University Hospital staff is an “embarrassment”.

The mum of three’s symptoms started on Wednesday with a cough but deteriorated further on Saturday when she woke up with sudden breathing difficulties.

“When I woke up I could hear crackles when I was breathing, I was feeling pretty rough,” said the doctor, who was able to carry out her own medical assessment.

“My pulse was very fast and my oxygen levels were on the lowest side. I fitted the category for an immediate response for an ambulance.”

Paramedics arrived after 90 minutes and took her to Croydon University Hospital, where her blood tests were taken. A chest x-ray showed signs of pneumonia, which doctors said was caused by coronavirus.

Despite the diagnosis, she was not deemed ill enough to warrant hospital admission and therefore did not meet the criteria for testing.

She was sent home after six hours, told to drink plenty of water and return if she got worse in 48 hours.

Lydia didn’t have to go back, but is still recovering at home and says she has never been so ill. She does not think she will be able to go to work for at least another week.

Asked about the atmosphere in the hospital, Lydia was surprised to find it quieter than she was expecting.

She added: “It was quite surreal, it was quiet. People seem to be staying away, I did not see the waiting room though as I was taken by ambulance.

“In the majors unit they had a cubicle for me and they didn’t look under undue stress.”

Lydia does not blame staff at the hospital for not testing her as “they are following protocol” but thinks all health workers should be offered the test as they are on the front line.

She said that she would feel more confident returning to work if she knew that she was immune.

She added: “I think the rules need to be universal, my friend who is a Macmillan nurse working for Epsom hospital trust had a test because her trust wanted to get her back to work as soon as possible.

“But Croydon University Hospital aren’t even testing health care workers. I think it has to be the same across trusts otherwise it is a lottery.

“I work for 111 with the London Ambulance Service and they are not even offering a test, they have got the most front line people out there.

“To me it does not make sense when they are frontliners and going to be most at risk.

“And the NHS is now bringing back retired doctors, they are putting their lives on the line coming back.”

It is not just the lack of testing that shocked Lydia about her experience.

She also felt paramedics and hospital staff were not kitted out with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

“The paramedics were just wearing a mask, apron and gloves,” she said.

“This is the same as what was supplied to my GP surgery, it’s an embarrassment.”

And this same kit was used by the doctors that treated her at the hospital.

The GP said she would have expected them to at least be wearing a N95 filter mask, which is tighter fitting and thicker and said to prevent 95 per cent of small particles from entering the lungs.

“I know there is some guidance of when to use them, they wear them in cardiac arrest. I suspect it is down to a national shortage.”

A spokesperson for the hospital said that there is enough protective equipment to keep patients and staff safe but stock has to be used “appropriately”.

They added: “We are working seven days a week to make sure supplies continue to reach all our staff who need them, and we are following the latest Public Health England guidance to protect against COVID-19.”

Lydia also said that it is important that people take the virus seriously and stay home as much as possible and pointed out that it is not only older people who are affected.

She said: “It’s something we’ve never ever dealt with. I never thought I would experience something like this – as a doctor, mother, wife.”

“The lady who discharged me said they are getting a lot of young people with coronavirus, she had a 30-year-old asthmatic dying last week, she said there was a 24-year-old coming in when I was there.

“We need to stop the spread, everyone needs to stay home, it is the only way.”