Covid labs given two weeks’ notice ahead of cut to testing contract

Staff working at national Covid testing laboratories have been told their contracts are set to end with just two weeks’ notice, The Independent has learned.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) told labs across the country working with saliva based Covid testing that it is withdrawing all funding for contracts from 1 April.

The laboratories running these tests were sent letters last week informing them of the change, despite staff being told in February the contracts would expire in June 2022.

It comes after The Independent reported staff working within a Covid testing lab for an NHS trust had been informed their jobs were at risk with just a few weeks’ notice. NHS-run “lighthouse labs” in Newcastle and Plymouth told staff their jobs could be at risk from 1 April.

NHS laboratories running loop-mediated isothermal amplification, which allows people to carry out tests through saliva samples with swabbing, were warned earlier this year that contracts were up for review, as revealed by The Independent.

Several NHS sources have said the method of testing was aimed at use by NHS trusts, schools and prisons but had not been taken up widely enough.

However, sources also told The Independent a handful of NHS trusts were hoping to continue their contracts, with one trust recently registering thousands to use the testing service for the next few months.

Last week NHS England’s chief finance officer revealed the NHS had been told by the government it would have to put some of its core funding into Covid testing.

The news comes as free public testing for Covid is set to end this week after the NHS was told it must use its own core funding to continue testing itself.

In an announcement on Tuesday, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said free testing for symptomatic patients in hospital will be provided where a PCR test is required for their care and access to treatments.

Free testing will also be provided to symptomatic people in the community where they require Covid treatments because they’re at higher risk of becoming ill. This group will be contacted directly and be sent lateral flow tests.

Symptomatic people living or working in high-risk settings such as care homes, NHS settings, hospices and prisons.

Asymptomatic testing will continue in some “high risk” settings including NHS and private hospitals, hospices, care homes and care services and during periods of high prevalence of Covid when infection can spread rapidly.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said: “Vaccines remain our best defence and we are now offering spring boosters to the elderly, care home residents and the most vulnerable – please come forward to protect yourself, your family, and your community.”

A UKHSA spokesperson said: “Throughout the pandemic rapid asymptomatic testing has played a vital role in preventing the spread of Covid-19, helping to identify cases that would otherwise have gone undetected.

“The vast majority of asymptomatic testing is carried out using Lateral Flow Devices [LFD], which have gone through rigorous validation, are proven to be highly effective at detecting Covid-19 in people who are infectious and do not require lab processing.

“As part of the Living with Covid strategy, limited asymptomatic testing will remain available for those working in a small number of at-risk settings. This testing will be provided through LFD and PCR testing. LAMP testing will no longer be used as part of the national testing programme.

“We have communicated changes to LAMP testing partners as quickly as possible and thank them for everything they have done during the pandemic.”