The UK has a comparatively high test capacity but is failing to use it efficiently in tackling Covid-19, researchers say, raising concerns including a lack of follow-up and adequate financial support of those isolating.
The UK’s test and trace system has been heavily criticised in recent weeks, with some people advised to travel hundreds of miles for a test and turnaround times plummeting.
Now researchers have compared it with systems in five other countries – Germany, Ireland, South Africa, Spain and South Korea – finding that while the UK has the highest proven test capacity, its system has serious flaws.
“It is no use having, as we have, a very high relative number of tests if that doesn’t lead to people being isolated and supported so that we break chains of infection,” said Prof Michael Hopkins of the University of Sussex business school, a co-author of the work.
The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, compared the test and trace systems of the six countries with the five principles of an optimal programme, as set out by the UK’s Independent Sage committee, such as the need for quick and accessible testing and isolation of infectious individuals. The team also looked at recommendations from the World Health Organization.
While a lack of data meant the performance of the systems could not be compared, the team was able to look at the gaps in the approaches. The results, based on programmes up to the end of August, showed all the countries’ systems had problems, for example the South Korean approach raised privacy concerns, while Spain lacked contact tracers.
Despite the UK having the highest proven testing capacity of the six countries, the team found flaws in its test and trace system, including access to tests and individuals taking their own swabs. The researchers said people wanting a test should be triaged by GPs and, if a test were required, it should be carried out by a healthcare professional to avoid poor sample collection.
“Any other scarce resource in the NHS, you have primary care as gatekeepers,” said Hopkins.
The team also expressed worries about where the tests were processed. “Notably in the UK, the commissioning of new, private, large-scale testing in the Lighthouse laboratories has bypassed accreditation and raises quality concerns,” the researchers said.
Source: The Guardian
