• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

‘It’s an absolute shambles’ as Test and Trace reaches a ‘critical pinch-point’

"It’s an absolute shambles. No home tests available. And now the nearest test centre is Oldham, a 100-mile round-trip with a sick child."

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2020-09-08 11:56
in News
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

The Test and Trace system are at a ‘critical pinch-point’ which has led to an apology from a senior staff member, but not from Dido Harding herself. Barnoess Harding is the head of the Test and Trace system in England.

Instead Director of testing Sarah-Jane Marsh was left to issue an apology to people unable to get a Covid-19 test as officials consider new lockdown restrictions to curb the current spike in cases.

Sarah-Jane Marsh said there is capacity at testing sites but laboratories processing the tests are at a “critical pinch-point”.

Ms Marsh added that the system is doing “all it can to expand quickly”.

Test centres

There have been reports of people being told there are no appointments available at test centres in England and that there are no home tests kits available to send out.

Can I please offer my heartfelt apologies to anyone who cannot get a COVID test at present. All of our testing sites have capacity, which is why they don’t look overcrowded, its our laboratory processing that is the critical pinch-point. We are doing all we can to expand quickly.

— Sarah-Jane Marsh 💙 (@BWCHBoss) September 8, 2020

Ms Marsh wrote on Twitter: “Can I please offer my heartfelt apologies to anyone who cannot get a Covid test at present.

“All of our testing sites have capacity, which is why they don’t look overcrowded; it’s our laboratory processing that is the critical pinch-point. We are doing all we can to expand quickly.

RelatedPosts

Priti Patel’s claim about police officer numbers is slammed in viral video

Liz Truss talks tough on Hong Kong but everyone left saying same thing

Tweet summing up the Pincher, Johnson and Parish sordid mess is epic

Ex-head of govt unit that drew up Covid restrictions will KEEP job – despite fine for attending ‘boozy’ bash during lockdown

“We have additional NHS, Lighthouse, University and Partner Labs all due to open up imminently and we are also expanding the use of non-Laboratory based tests.The testing team work on this 18 hours a day, seven days a week. We recognise the country is depending on us.”

Andy Thompson, 38, a technical manager from Crewe, said his six-year-old daughter is home from school with a continuous cough, but has so far been unable to get a home test.

Shambles

“It’s an absolute shambles. No home tests available. And now the nearest test centre is Oldham, a 100-mile round-trip with a sick child,” he said.

“I didn’t realise how bad it is. If you haven’t got a car, no way you’re getting tested.”

People have also complained in recent days and weeks of being directed hundreds of miles to get a test.

On Monday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock pledged that people would have to travel no more than 75 miles for a test.

Daily confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK
(PA Graphics)

Further problems with the testing system came as a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said the latest increase in coronavirus cases is “very worrying”.

Professor Andrew Hayward said scientists are monitoring the data closely for signs of wider community transmission of the disease.

“Generally it is local outbreaks, but there is also very worrying increases in cases, particularly over the last few days,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“That is what we are really keeping a close eye on – the extent to which it moves away from these local outbreaks to broader community transmission.

“What we saw in the last few days from this surveillance data was this worrying increase in cases which, as we know from the first wave of the pandemic, can potentially get out of hand if we don’t be very serious about the control measures.”

Related – More than 1,000 doctors to leave NHS because of Covid chaos

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Anti-Selfie Exhibition to bring Portraiture into the 21st Century

Train punctuality on Britain’s railways fell to a 13-year low in 2018

‘Symptom of a much wider complex problem’ – Knife crime hits record high

Man In Charge Of Old Trafford Blunder Also Part of London 2012 Olympics Security Fiasco

Today is the loneliest day of the year for parents

Brexit red tape on GB sausage imports to NI ramped up

5 unusual places to have a work’s party in London

Let the c*nts hunt

That’s a lot of potatoes! Sir Walter Raleigh’s family home is on market for eye watering fee

BBC One’s ‘Three Girls’ shines spotlight on sex trafficking in England

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.