Why the UK lacks an adequate testing system | Letters
We would be better placed to respond to the coronavirus outbreak had the Public Health Laboratory Service been maintained, writes Valerie Bevan, while Dr Colin Coles highlights the differences between the NHS and German healthcare
Matt Hancock says this country, unlike Germany, does not have the scale to undertake the testing required in the Covid-19 pandemic (Why has the UK lagged behind in testing for the coronavirus?, 3 April), and Public Health England (PHE) is being criticised for its lack of testing capacity. Yet between 1946 and 2003 the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) provided a network of over 50 laboratories that were the first line of defence in major public health outbreaks. Had this network been maintained, there would have had been more laboratories available. Instead, since 2003 this network has been dramatically reduced in favour of centralisation as a cost-saving venture, which has resulted in a lack of capacity for large-scale testing.
The Central Public Health Laboratory in north London (where most of the current testing is taking place) has also been much reduced in capacity, and many specialist staff have retired and not been replaced.
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