NHS staff absent from work due to shortage of coronavirus tests

Hospital bosses have warned that a shortage of coronavirus tests for NHS staff is leading to absences from work and services being put at risk.

NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts in England, said staff are having to self-isolate because they are unable to get tests for themselves or for family members.

The home secretary has said the government is “surging capacity” where it is needed.

Ms Patel said “I haven’t said there’s a shortage of tests, what I have said is that we’re surging capacity in areas where we’ve had local lockdowns.

“Clearly there is much more work that needs to be undertaken with Public Health England and the actual public health bodies in those particular local areas, and as a government obviously we work with Public Health England to surge where there is demand in local hotspot areas.”

NHS Providers’ chief executive Chris Hopson, said it was “clear” there were problems with capacity.

“It’s not just access for tests for staff members themselves, it’s also access for their family members as NHS workers have to self-isolate if their family members are unable to confirm if they have Covid-19 or not.

“The problem is that NHS trusts are working in the dark – they don’t know why these shortages are occurring, how long they are likely to last, how geographically widespread they are likely to be and what priority will be given to healthcare workers and their families in accessing scarce tests.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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