I remember reading an article earlier in the year saying just this. Several trusts coming forward and saying that their labs were already geared or gearing up for mass testing but being shunned for the so called lighthouse labs. Beggars belief if that’s still the case.I am fairly sure that NHS labs have got capacity but Hancock and Harding insist on the tests from Pillar 2 to go to a selection of private labs ('the lighthouse laboratories').
I remember reading an article earlier in the year saying just this. Several trusts coming forward and saying that their labs were already geared or gearing up for mass testing but being shunned for the so called lighthouse labs. Beggars belief if that’s still the case.
Glad my Dad ended up in St Cross thenMight start kicking off at UHCW now.
Cardiology mate had first confirmed case that was on a ward. Always the potential for that kind of thing to spread like wildfire
You should be involved in this type of stuff. Very creative and thoughtful in your planningI don’t understand what happened to the war effort theme. Nothing has been done it seems to requisition capacity for schools or testing in the months we had to prepare. It was obvious testing was the way out of this, instead of throwing billions at a scheme to help large reateraunt chains which restarted the infection rate we could’ve spent it on hiring in labs, paying offices to host temp schools, all sorts.
It just seems like we’ve tried nothing and all the effort has gone into keeping large businesses running as normal.
I made the same mistake, although the way the data is presented is pretty misleading. The total test capacity number the government are throwing out every day includes antibody tests.I know it says 380k but that can’t be right for the labs ?
Peston has suggested part of the issue currently is that 100K tests a day are being reserved for workers in social care.Hospitals and other essential services won’t be able to run if staff are all off waiting for tests. Then again the government could easily have foreseen this scenario and they did a half arsed job.
I remember reading an article earlier in the year saying just this. Several trusts coming forward and saying that their labs were already geared or gearing up for mass testing but being shunned for the so called lighthouse labs. Beggars belief if that’s still the case.
Not sure why people are complaining about tests, Patel was on TV this morning and was very clear, "tests are available" and "its wrong to say tests are not available".
I made the same mistake, although the way the data is presented is pretty misleading. The total test capacity number the government are throwing out every day includes antibody tests.
As you can see that number conveniently shot up at the time they were getting grief for being way off the promised testing numbers back in the spring and switched from tests done to testing capacity.
The actual swab testing capacity is 240K. You can see pretty clearly the tests processed (the dark blue line) has been rapidly catching up with the testing capacity (light blue line) yet seemingly nothing put in place for when the two meet. The daily testing numbers for antibody tests processed are fairly static at around 20K.
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Peston has suggested part of the issue currently is that 100K tests a day are being reserved for workers in social care.
Isn't a lot of that, though, government ignoring their own simulation exercise just three years earlier?Yeah, this was true Tony. From memory PHE apparently wanted to control everything centrally so were really slow to also involve uni and private labs. As I’ve said before ministers should rightly take flack for under performing departments but PHE were pretty shambolic at the start (PPE, testing etc). For example how do you not have alternative PPE supply chains lined up ie UK based manufacturers (that could immediately be turned on), incase there was a world wild pandemic ?!! (and countries looking after themselves) - this isn’t a funding issue, it’s a common sense issue !
I’m sympathetic due to these being unprecedented times but FFS !!
As the old adage goes. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.Isn't a lot of that, though, government ignoring their own simulation exercise just three years earlier?
You should be involved in this type of stuff. Very creative and thoughtful in your planning
FYI for anyone trying to get tested
Yeah, this was true Tony. From memory PHE apparently wanted to control everything centrally so were really slow to also involve uni and private labs. As I’ve said before ministers should rightly take flack for under performing departments but PHE were pretty shambolic at the start (PPE, testing etc). For example how do you not have alternative PPE supply chains lined up ie UK based manufacturers (that could immediately be turned on), incase there was a world wild pandemic ?!! (and countries looking after themselves) - this isn’t a funding issue, it’s a common sense issue !
I’m sympathetic due to these being unprecedented times but FFS !!
PHE is not responsible for sourcing PPE. It designs and commissions services and runs some public health laboratories, whose role it is to identify outbreaks not carry out mass testing. PHE had a role in quality assuring tests carried out by other NHS labs. PHE capacity was reached in March.
For an intelligent fella I think you ought to do a bit more reading and stop listening to politicians trying to scapegoat. How can PHE be to blame for not buying something they're not responsible for and not having the capacity to do any more than they have been designed and funded for?
Ah well, I gave it 3 months but COVID has finished my business off. Just handed my notice in and am feeling strangely contented. The last few weeks in particular have been a nightmare but at least the worry of basically spending money putting off the inevitable is over. The wife works for me, but at least she's got something else (much better) lined up otherwise it could have been so much worse. I had got used to daytime telly during the lockdown so it'll be nice to see a bit more home under the hammer and bargain hunt. They have been missed.
Downing Street revealed testing was discussed at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday morning.
Following the cabinet meeting Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Leader of the House of Commons, hailed the testing programme as a "government success".
"I think it's going as well as could possibly be expected considering the demand," he said.
I stand corrected about PPE, shouldn’t have lumped it in (I only do it for the back handed ‘intelligent’ comments). I think the testing set up was originally the responsibility PHE though (appreciate not standard remit but they were overseeing it) then wasn’t it moved after the initial shambles ?
I’ve said previously that ministers should ultimately held accountable (also said Hancock and Williamson shouldnt probably was in jobs) but there are others who have got to take responsibility, whether that be PHE, NHS procurement etc etc, very highly paid senior people who would not have delivered albeit in unprecedented times
Ps think I’d mentioned previously that the infectious diseases team in PHE employs over 2000 people
Ah well, I gave it 3 months but COVID has finished my business off. Just handed my notice in and am feeling strangely contented. The last few weeks in particular have been a nightmare but at least the worry of basically spending money putting off the inevitable is over. The wife works for me, but at least she's got something else (much better) lined up otherwise it could have been so much worse. I had got used to daytime telly during the lockdown so it'll be nice to see a bit more home under the hammer and bargain hunt. They have been missed.
Sorry to hear that mate. Good news that the wife has already sorted something else out. Hopefully that will keep your head above water until things start getting back to normal.Ah well, I gave it 3 months but COVID has finished my business off. Just handed my notice in and am feeling strangely contented. The last few weeks in particular have been a nightmare but at least the worry of basically spending money putting off the inevitable is over. The wife works for me, but at least she's got something else (much better) lined up otherwise it could have been so much worse. I had got used to daytime telly during the lockdown so it'll be nice to see a bit more home under the hammer and bargain hunt. They have been missed.
Priti Patel says it’s now against the rules for families to stop and chat in the street. Still legal for me to talk to 100 a day
Apart from when shooting grouse
I was infected with coronavirus in March, six months on I’m still unwell
Charlie Russell, 27, is one of an estimated 600,000 people with post-Covid illness, a condition that may give an insight into chronic fatigue syndromewww.theguardian.com
Don’t worry though Grendel knows it doesn’t affect anyone under 65
It would be an understatement to say that isn’t good but that isn’t good. Brace yourselves.People in hospital up by 26% in a week
People on ventilators up by 50% in a week
Daily hospital admissions in England up by 82% in a week
People in hospital up by 26% in a week
People on ventilators up by 50% in a week
Daily hospital admissions in England up by 82% in a week
Not questioning there are rises but still need some context Fernando. I took a couple of pics from the gov numbers a few days back, for example on 6 Sept
Patients in hospital (covid) 756
Patients on ventilators 69
Patients admitted 124 (although think this had been stuck for a few days).
Yesterday’s uploaded figure
patients in hospital 972 (Sunday)
Patients on ventilators 106 (Monday)
Patients admitted is out of date so not sure where I can find latest number. Where do you get yours as gov site isn’t great.
now obviously any increase is concerning (I’d imagine that these numbers will unfortunately continue to increase for a while yet), however, at its peak I think
Patients in hospital with covid was something like 17,000 (from memory) they think tens of thousands were catching it per day and around 4-5000 were on ventilators. Not to mention deaths.
As I say people are right to be concerned but percentage rises on relatively small numbers can sometimes be misleading and distort people’s views. Hopefully people will heed the new advice and figures won’t start growing exponentially. Fingers crossed anyway
Yes I'm sure that people just have things out of context, its not really as much of a problem as people think.
yeah, that’s what I said
We seem to be sleep walking into the same, if not worse, situation we were in earlier in the year. Yet again we seem to be a few weeks behind mainland Europe but seem to think what’s happening there won’t happen here.Andy Burnham (with whom i've been impressed so far during the pandemic) reckons if the testing situation is not completed sorted within 2-3 weeks we'll lose control of the virus............I think hes wrong. I reckon that bird has flown. We're doomed.
Yes it is, like it was from day one.
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