Coronavirus: Government testing target is ‘red herring’ say hospital chiefs

The government’s ambitious target to test 100,000 people a day is a “red herring” that distracts from shortcomings in the long-term coronavirus strategy, a scathing NHS Providers report has found.

The document highlights how the English health and care system “started from a poor position” as Covid-19 tightened its grip on Europe, and consistently “struggled” to demonstrate a “clear, effective and well communicated strategy”, with a lack of clarity on who would be tested, when, how, and with what frequency.

NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and NHS trusts in England, said leaders “stand ready to play their part” in testing regimes, but said they needed to know “a lot more, as quickly as possible” to do so.

The report added: “A vast amount still remains to be done to reach a testing regime that can be described as fit for purpose.”

It comes as the government continues to face questions over its daily testing target for the end of this month, set on April 2 by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, even though Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially identified the aim to carry out 250,000 tests a day.

Chris Hopson, NHS Providers chief executive, said members are becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of clarity on how the testing regime will be developed for the next phase.

The government remains stoic in its refusal to ease lockdown measures — despite considerable pressure from some quarters — unless its five criteria, including manageable infection rates and testing capacity, are met.

Mr Hopson said: “Testing is one area where, despite all the work delivered by trusts and the NHS, the health and care system as a whole has struggled to develop an effective, coordinated approach.

“As we consider the route out of lockdown, what trust leaders need now is clarity on the testing regime from here on.

“Setting a target for a number of tests for April 30 may have had a galvanising effect. But what matters most is an updated strategy to take us through the exit from lockdown.”

Professor John Newton, the government’s testing supremo, said on Wednesday he remained confident of reaching the 100,000 landmark by the end of April.

But the latest figures announced by the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, during Wednesday’s Downing Street press conference showed the target was some way off being met, with 52,429 people tested for Covid-19 in the UK on Tuesday, despite Mr Hancock announcing a massive expansion of the groups eligible for testing earlier in the week.

But the NHS Providers report described how members felt “on the end of a series of frequent tactical announcements”, with “no visibility on any long-term strategy”.

It said: “They are being expected, at the drop of a hat, to accommodate these changes with no advance notice or planning, despite the fact that many of the changes have significant operational impact.”

The report added: “The recent public focus on whether 100,000 tests will be performed on April 30 is a red herring.”

NHS Providers described the target as “arbitrary” and said it risked preventing the development of a “proper, next stage testing strategy”, adding: “It may be testing for testing’s sake.”

The report calls on the government to update its existing testing plan — published before the perceived first peak of the virus — by addressing several matters, including how it intends to improve access for key-worker testing, how it expects to prioritise who is swabbed, and how it plans to track and trace any new outbreak once lockdown is lifted.

It said it would be for any subsequent public inquiry to determine why these problems have occurred and whether the response was adequate.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said testing was “absolutely critical” and capacity at NHS and Public Health England laboratories had more than doubled within weeks.

He added: “Our aim as we tackle this virus is to make it easy, fast and simple for any essential worker who needs a test to get a test.

“In addition to setting up a nationwide network of drive in testing sites, we have introduced home testing kit delivery, deployed mobile testing units operated by the Armed Forces, and built three new ‘mega labs’ to analyse test samples.”

Press Association