Harrogate District Hospital is to increase the number of coronavirus tests for staff amid concerns some NHS employees are being forced to miss work to self-isolate because tests aren’t available.
NHS Providers, which represents English hospital trusts, said today there were clear capacity problems with the testing regime.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said trust leaders from Bristol, Leeds and London had all raised concerns that a lack of testing availability had led to greater levels of staff absence. He added:
“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.”
A spokesman for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said it had its own staff testing facility and that any staff member required to have a test had received one. He added:
“We’re continuing to monitor demand for testing. In line with recent general increases in demand, we are in the process of extending our staff service to ensure we have capacity going forward.”
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