South West health bosses say there is ‘no shortage’ of lateral flow tests
It comes days after the government website warned that home testing kits were unavailable
Last updated 16th Dec 2021
Health bosses across the South West say there is ‘no shortage’ of lateral flow tests.
A spokesperson from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says they are issuing 'record numbers' of rapid testing kits - with 1.6 million tests distributed on Monday (13 December).
It comes days after the government website warned that home testing kits were unavailable, with visitors told to ‘try again later’.
Dr Michael Marsh, a Medical Director at NHS England and NHS Improvement South West, said: "There are plenty of lateral flow tests available.
"I think the problem was with the weekend's announcement, a bit like the supermarket shelves, everybody rushed to get some and the system got overwhelmed in terms of the requests coming in quickly.
"There is also that element that people need to be responsible."
Dr Michael Marsh - NHS England and NHS Improvement South West
Dominic Mellon - the Deputy Director of Public Health England South West - adds that there is a risk that people are ordering more than they need:
"If people order what they need, use what they have to begin with, do make use of community pharmacies which have supplies that are coming through - that's probably the best way of being able to access lateral flow tests."
Dominic Mellon - Deputy Director for Public Health England South West
A spokesperson for UKHSA said: "We must carefully balance the demands placed on the delivery network to ensure that PCR and LFD tests can be delivered to homes across the country.
"The number of LFDs that we can send to people’s homes each day varies according to the demands on the wider delivery network.
"You can find your closest location to collect a lateral flow tests kit on gov.uk."
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
Earlier this week there were no PCR tests available in Bristol, but there is now availability across the entire South West region.