UK firm is selling coronavirus testing kits to EIGHTY countries because labs here 'can't cope' - while NHS swabbing stations stand deserted in Britain

Revealed: UK firm is selling coronavirus testing kits to EIGHTY countries because labs here 'can't cope' - while NHS swabbing stations stand deserted in Britain

A British firm producing millions of pounds worth of coronavirus tests is selling most of them abroad because the UK doesn’t have enough laboratories to use them - as ministers were today accused of losing their grip on the crisis.

Novacyt has made £17.8million selling its testing equipment to more than 80 countries via its Southampton-based subsidiary Primerdesign. But only £1million worth has been sold to the UK, raising questions about why Britain is not buying more at a time when there are global shortages of tests.

It came as a huge NHS coronavirus swabbing site stood deserted yesterday despite the urgent need for more patients and medics to be examined. Pictures surfaced showing a testing site for NHS staff in Chessington, south-west London, as the UK's coronavirus death rate doubled - while one at Ikea in Wembley was also quiet.

Hospitals have today been ordered to use any spare lab space to test self-isolating NHS staff for coronavirus as a record-breaking 381 coronavirus deaths were announced in the UK, taking the total to 1,789 fatalities.  

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has intervened to end the embarrassing situation where thousands of tests have been unused and a vast NHS swabbing station also stood deserted yesterday. 

Huge numbers of doctors, nurses and other crucial NHS staff are at home self-isolating but most have not been tested for coronavirus. The failure is causing growing anger because many could return to work if cleared of having the virus.

A source said the Mr Hancock had now scrapped a rule that 85 per cent of tests were reserved for patients, regardless of how many needed testing.

Housing and Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today claimed the UK will be able to test up to 25,000 people per day by the middle of April.

It marks the darkest day so far for the NHS, which has seen patients dying by the dozen in hospitals in every corner of the country.

Boris Johnson is said to be taking control of ensuring chemicals vital to test kits arrive in the UK amid the criticism. Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said at yesterday's Downing Street press conference: 'The prime minister and the health secretary are working with companies worldwide to ensure that we get the material we need to increase tests of all kinds.' 

Scientists have accused health chiefs of snubbing their expertise, as experts at the Francis Crick Institute and Oxford University told that Public Health England had left them 'sitting on their hands'. Oxford University has 119 machines that can be used to identify tell-tale genetic signs of the virus, but Government officials have only so far accepted one. The Francis Crick Institute has supplied five machines to the NHS, but has dozens more that aren't being utilised in the fight against the pandemic.

The Government is under attack for failing to ramp up its testing quickly enough – only 8,240 patients were screened over the past 24 hours.

Today it's revealed that a British firm is selling kits to 80 countries, including India. Novacyt said a shortage of NHS testing facilities had prevented further UK sales. Separately, a former World Health Organisation chief said the Government’s health protection agency had been ‘slow’ over testing and that 44 labs were underused.

No10 admitted its target of carrying out 25,000 tests a day might not be hit until May. As the NHS’s medical director said the number of new cases seemed to be stabilising:

A drive-thru test centre was established at Chessington World of Adventures and was seen up and operational from Friday to Monday.

10,000 NHS staff tell PM: We need proper protection 

More than 10,000 frontline NHS staff have written to the Prime Minister to demand proper protective equipment amid growing anger that a lack of supplies is putting lives at risk.

Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer, last night admitted there had been ‘distribution issues’ but insisted the UK had enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to cope with the pandemic.

Millions of masks, gloves, aprons and other items were delivered to hospitals on Monday, the Government said, with the Army helping to get them out nationwide.

Import taxes on such clothing, ventilators and virus testing kits have also been waived to ease supply, the Chancellor said.

But, despite this, unions representing healthcare workers say their members are complaining in droves about shortages of safety equipment. The GMB said some social care staff were being expected to make visits with just a plastic apron and a pair of gloves – ‘the same protection that they use to make a sandwich.’

The letter to Boris Johnson has been co-ordinated by EveryDoctor, a membership organisation of UK doctors which campaigns on safety in the NHS.