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Britain could be testing up to 100,000 patients per day for COVID-19 and have results back within 24 hours – if many researchers who are currently sitting at home were classed as key workers and redundant taxi drivers and delivery companies enlisted.

That is the view of infectious disease expert Professor Colin Garner who has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask why we are creating “a central testing facility in Milton Keynes” (see https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/health/coronavirus/national-coronavirus-testing-centre-opens-milton-keynes-2516931) when regional universities, contract organisations and pharmaceutical companies already have the facilities, and experts are sat at home whilst people die.” What use is a facility based near London to someone living in Berwick-upon-Tweed for example. How long will it take for samples to be collected, shipped, analysed and the results returned to the patients. It will be days. The government is doing its best for the people but it needs to think much more laterally. There are many regional testing facilities capable of analysing local samples with a quick turn round in say 24 hours. How long will it take for a facility in London to get the data. This is typical Whitehall thinking of centralisation. Yes more of the COVID-19 cases are presently in the South East but this situation will change in the coming weeks. That’s why one central SE based lab is not a good idea.

Professor Garner, who heads up Antibiotic Research UK, the only charity in the world dedicated to fighting drug-resistant infections, said: “We are facing the biggest pandemic since the Second World War and we haven’t even tested our frontline medics for the virus, yet. Health carers and members of the public are spreading COVID-19 like wildfire, and most of them don’t even know they have the virus. Meanwhile, specialist labs sit empty, experts are not consulted and, as the volunteers recruited to the NHS have shown, an army of potential deliverers is out there but have yet to be mobilised. Local labs probably have personal protective equipment sitting in their drawers and stores – they should be asked to give these to NHS frontline workers now.

We need action to avoid deaths, now. And that includes putting someone other than NHS England in charge. Their efforts in engaging the right people have proved woefully inadequate – they always seem to be leading from the rear.”

Professor Garner illustrated how his call to action would work by using his home community of York. “Patients would be tested by their GP, the samples sent to one of the regional labs close by using recruited taxi drivers, UBER drivers, Deliveroo drivers and other private companies. The samples would be analysed by local experts and the results sent back within 24 hours. At the moment, the testing process can take up to four days, with demand going up and just the one new testing facility in Milton Keynes. By the time the results come back, the patient could be dead.”

The process has to begin with specialist biomedical scientists and technicians as well as other research specialists and other disease experts being added to the list of key workers, allowed to travel and given every encouragement to join “a national effort” – argues Professor Garner.

“It is ironic, isn’t it, that the Government pre-COVID-19 was speaking so glowingly about the research sector and their sense of British innovation. And yet when the time comes to utilise that expertise – nothing, absolutely nothing. There may be as many as 10,000 – 15,000 scientists in the UK who would I am positive, step up at a moment’s notice. All of that talent, unused. It is mind-boggling.”

Professor Garner has put his thoughts into a blog, had a dialogue with his local MP Kevin Hollinrake (Permanent Private Secretary to Michael Gove MP) and now written personally to Boris Johnson. You can read his blog at: https://www.antibioticresearch.org.uk/test-test-test-charity-calls-on-uk-government-to-reach-out-to-uk-testing-labs-and-staff-to-be-enlisted-in-the-national-covid-19-crisis/

Colin concluded: “This scheme could be up-and-running in a fortnight and help reduce the tragic number of deaths. Look at what has happened in Germany or South Korea to see what a dramatic impact testing can have. People have died because we are ill prepared. We must think outside the box to tackle this public health tragedy. This is war and we must use the same measures we use in war to tackle this unseen killer.

What worries me is that Britain’s response to COVID-19 is haphazard and definitely not joined-up. It is not a good portent for what would happen say when antibiotics stopped working, which is not a million miles away.

In the way that services were commandeered during the Second World War, we should be conscripting everyone into this effort, public, private and voluntary sector, from driver to researcher.”