Category Archives: COVID-19 Tests

COVID-19 Tests, News

DAM Health launches in Wales

DAM Health is incredibly proud to announce its first clinic is opening in Cardiff Bay.

One of the UK’s leading Covid testing services offers rapid testing with Fit To Fly and Fit To work results back within 24 hours. They also feature rapid antibody and antigen testing. All of this will now be available to the people of Cardiff, around the city region and beyond.

With over 35 clinics already in operation across England, opening up in Wales is another huge step forward for the innovative company. The new clinic opens at Cardiff Bay’s leisure and entertainment hub, The Red Dragon Centre, on Monday 19th July.

Professor Frank Joseph, DAM Health’s medical director, says: “We are thrilled to be bringing DAM Health to Wales as we continue to develop and invest in our service. With the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic and testing affecting our daily lives, at DAM Health we work hard to be the leaders in our field with results back in 24 hours. Our in-clinic testing remains an important choice for those wanting the extra security and peace of mind from our trained clinicians conducting the tests rather than DIY kits at home.”

Emma Constantinou, Marketing and Tenant Liaison Manager at the Red Dragon Centre, adds: “We’re thrilled that DAM Health has chosen the Red Dragon Centre as its first location in Wales, especially at this critical time. We look forward to working closely with the DAM team to support them with their Welsh launch and helping to make their first outlet here a huge success.”

DAM Health continues to support as range of charities and good causes, including The Hope Foundation and their incredible work in India to ongoing work with sports, events and travel sectors. Going abroad in particular is still an aim for many families and travellers this summer.

Kids Go Free effectively halves the cost of testing for families and their children. Each child aged 17 years or under can be tested for free with a paying adult in one of DAM Health’s clinics, with trained professionals, with the government-approved results safe and accurate for everyone. For any international travel, DAM Health recommends checking all requirements and FCDO travel advice before they book any foreign travel, ensuring the correct certification to fly is in place.

DAM Health started with one clinic in Liverpool in November and has expanded rapidly across the UK, investing heavily with its staff and locations to expand to meet the rising demand.

They have also launched clinics and labs in Spain with other countries in development too, including France, Portugal, Mexico and Holland.

DAM Health is based at The Red Dragon Centre, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff, CF10 4JY and online at www.dam-health.com

COVID-19 Tests, News

Covid-19 Testing Provider Express Test Brings In Absurd As Service Design Partner

ExpressTest, one of the UK’s largest Covid-19 screening service providers, has brought in service design agency Absurd to lead its next phase of transformational change.

As well as introducing innovative platform functionality and design updates, Absurd will also now manage the platform with a focus on ensuring it scales with and capitalises on increased demand. The firm predicts it will soon be processing more than 30,000 Covid test bookings every day.

Operated by the direct-to-consumer division of Cignpost Diagnostics Limited, ExpressTest has more than 30 corporate sites and a further 14 screening facilities across the country, with testing sites at major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh, as well as the NEC, Burnley Football Club and Reading FC. Cignpost provides corporate testing to clients such as Netflix, the BBC, Amazon and the PGA European Tour, leading the way for our sports, arts and film industries to get back into the studio or on the field.

A refreshed website, with a revised infrastructure, is being created to cater for the huge number of bookings now being made via the platform. The new site will feature a refreshed booking process and the focus has been placed on creating an enhanced user experience throughout the booking journey, with scalability allowing new testing sites and additional Covid testing products to be added with ease.

CEO of ExpressTest.co.uk Steve Whatley says: “With such rapid and huge demand for Covid-19 screening, we reacted with speed to be able to offer consumers the capability to purchase and book tests at sites where we operate as DHSC approved partners. But we’re now creating a much more efficient online experience.

“Working with Absurd, we will be introducing new digital functionality and improved features on the site to ensure our digital capabilities meet the ever-growing needs for our services.  While working responsively and with agility, we have a robust strategic roadmap in place to drive through future developments.

“Our mobile labs are playing an important part in the country’s ongoing battle against the virus, and we’re expanding our sites all the time. Absurd have given us first rate advice as well as the ability to succeed in our next phase of growth.

“Following the successful launch of our screening centres within the UK, ExpressTest is now conducting a pilot for home testing kits. Upon satisfactory results, we will make the kits available on our website.”

Oliver Bailey, co-founder of Absurd, commented: “Like with most organisations trying to navigate through the pandemic, agility and the ability to react with speed is crucial for ExpressTest.

“We’re creating a platform and framework that can adapt to the ever-changing needs of the business and have also put a team in place to continually evolve the platform to best meet the needs of consumers.

“It’s a pleasure to be working with Steve and his teams, who are providing such important services across the UK, and we look forward to supporting their exciting digital transformation journey as their partners.”

COVID-19, COVID-19 Tests, News

Independent SAGE sets out guidelines for lockdown exit strategy

Independent SAGE as today set out its guidelines for an exit strategy from lockdown and called for urgent reform of the UK Government’s Test & Trace system.  They acknowledged that new cases will need to come down to 5,000 a day so that Test & Trace can cope but say the system will need “urgent reform” if it is to work and enable the UK to “avoid continual lockdowns.”

Today’s briefing was also attended by special guest, Caroline Lucas MP.

The group showed that  1,217,214 contacts have been reached by SERCO Test & Trace since May at an approximate cost of £10,000 per head so far, based on the government’s commitment to spend £12bn on Test & Trace run by the private sector.  The system has been widely criticised and has proved less effective and more expensive than Wales’ track and trace which is run by the public sector.

The panel of expert scientists, chaired by former Chief Scientific Adviser Sir David King, renewed their calls  for Test & Trace to be replaced with a system overseen by NHS and again called for increased support for individuals who need to self-isolate.

Professor Anthony Costello of University College London, said:

“Failure to reform and improve the performance of the Find, Test, Trace & Isolate system, will mean earlier and more frequent circuit breakers and lockdowns.”

The panel were able to share some positive news – the latest data shows the number of cases is stagnating and hospital admissions slowing, although hospitals in some regions, such as Liverpool, have reached higher occupancy than in first wave.

The group also set out new recommendations for universities.

In a statement earlier this week, Independent SAGE said:

“Universities’ strategic responses to COVID-19 have been constrained by the requirements of the marketized nature of the sector imposed by UK government. Thus, in-person teaching has been maintained in part because of potential negative financial consequences. The issue of online delivery has become divisive (e.g., the University and College Union has argued consistently for online programme delivery) which has detracted from the wider ramifications of maintaining in-person contact which we outline below.

There has been much discussion about ‘fee refunds’ for dissatisfied students in cases where institutions are not providing Competition and Markets Authority-protected obligations to in-person delivery promised in prospectuses. However, Office for Students guidance states that “During the exceptional circumstances caused by the pandemic, we do not intend to take regulatory action … where we consider that reasonable efforts have not been made to protect the interests of students” and “The approach we are taking during the pandemic does not reflect the approach we would normally take to compliance with our regulatory framework … about providers not delivering courses as advertised.”

We urge UUK and Vice-Chancellors to work collaboratively to take the UK government’s recommendation to “move to increased levels of online learning” as a mandate to accept consistent scientific advice to move teaching online, with lab- and practice-based components exempt. This will unlock all other strategies, including enabling student choice for their own well-being. The government must make financial provision for universities to make decisions that are consistent with its own advice.

In today’s briefing, the group called for:

  • an immediate move to online teaching
  • students to be allowed to return home to continue their studies at any point during term to avoid large-scale movement in December
  • enable testing (or two weeks’ self-isolation, where testing capacity not sufficient) for those returning home and, ideally, when they reach home

 

About Independent SAGE:

Independent SAGE is a group of scientists who are working together to provide independent scientific advice to the UK government and public on how to minimise deaths and support Britain’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Sir David King, the former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK government, chairs the group and oversees its reports.

 

 

COVID-19 Tests, Healthcare, News

BBI Solutions Confirms UK Government contract for UK-Rapid Test Consortium

CRUMLIN-BASED BBI Solutions, a leading manufacturer of biological reagents and finished test platforms for the in-vitro diagnostics market, notes the press release issued by the UK Rapid Test Consortium (“UK-RTC”), of which BBI Solutions is a partner, on the UK Government’s first order for one million COVID-19 lateral flow antibody tests (the “AbC-19™ Rapid test”).

This first order is part of the UK Government’s plans to roll-out COVID-19 surveillance studies to help build a picture of how the virus has spread across the country.

The AbC-19™ Rapid test uses a small drop of blood from a finger-prick, and shows results in 20 minutes, without the need for a patient sample to be sent to a laboratory.

The test is currently CE-Marked for professional use, and can be administered by healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists and healthcare workers, at the point-of-care. The UK-RTC are seeking approval from the MHRA for self-test use.

The consortium will draw on BBI Solutions’ rapid test development and expertise, as well as its wider manufacturing capabilities, primarily at its headquarters at Crumlin, South Wales, and its site in Edinburgh.

BBI Solutions is also working closely with healthcare providers to optimise its smartphone diagnostic reader to be used in conjunction with the test. BBI’s patented Novarum technology will guide users at home through performing a test before securely providing the results with their healthcare provider.

The UK-RTC is reproduced in full at the end of this statement.

Dr Mario Gualano, CEO, BBI Solutions, said: “I am delighted that the UK-RTC has now received its first contract from the UK Government for our COVID-19 lateral flow antibody test.

“We believe that the AbC-19™ Rapid test has the immediate opportunity to allow the UK to build a swift and clear picture of how the virus has spread throughout the population. It also has the potential to be deployed in conjunction with vaccine candidates to help assess initial immune responses.”

COVID-19 Tests, News, Return to Work

How workplace COVID-19 testing is helping UK companies get back to work

As UK businesses begin to return to normal levels of activity and are inviting employees back to the office, they are searching for ways to support the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of their workforce. Many employers are considering using COVID-19 testing as part of their return to work strategies.

Coronavirus tests can help companies to determine if any of their employees have had the virus, which in turn can help shape their strategies for supporting the return of their workforce to the office. Testing can help give staff more confidence that their employer is taking their safety and wellbeing seriously and reassure them about returning to their workplace.

Even though it’s not yet clear if or for how long a past infection provides future immunity from the COVID-19 virus, testing is useful in spotting patterns in work environments or groups of employees that might indicate higher levels of risk, as well as checking the effectiveness of other safety measures.

However, COVID-19 tests can often be difficult to administer and slow to deliver results. In many cases, employees need to travel to testing stations or send off for testing kits and then wait 2-3 days for the results. A new service launched by one of the UK’s leading healthcare recruiters, MSI Group, aims to solve these problems and allow companies to get their workforce back up and running as quickly and easily as possible.

Employers can arrange testing days at the company’s place of work, in which a high volume of employees can be given tests administered by a trained clinician. Results are obtained within 3 minutes and can be given during the appointment slot. In this way, employers can get some or all of their workforce tested in one go, giving them a baseline to use when building their return to work strategy.

Here’s how one of MSI Group’s clients, VIP SKI Managing Director Andy Sturt, describes the process:

“In situ office testing was quick, smooth and efficient and gave us a useful Covid-19 benchmark from which we were able to apply our new Covid-19 workplace protocols. A useful way of showing diligence and introducing confidence to the workforce.”

MSI Group Ltd CEO Nick Simpson said:

“Rapid mass testing is an incredibly useful tool for companies who are keen to welcome their employees back to the workplace. As one of the UK’s leading healthcare recruiters, we know how crucial having a stable workforce is to the success of an organisation. That’s why we are very pleased to be able to offer the UK’s only end to end COVID-19 testing service, in collaboration with G+N Medical.

“To reinforce our commitment to helping combat Coronavirus, for every test completed, we also make a donation to the National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus Appeal.”