Question reference: S5W-35112
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 10 February 2021
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Current status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 February 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many offers to help with COVID-19 diagnostic testing it has received in each month since March 2020 that it has (a) subsequently taken up and (b) not yet responded to.
Answer
Any organisation that has offered to support testing provision is referred to NHS Scotland's National Services Scotland (NSS) as they co-ordinate the operational delivery of testing services.
A number of university and private laboratories stepped in to assist with testing in the early stages of the pandemic. However, as we have significantly increased our testing capacity from 350 tests per day to a maximum weekday capacity of more than 75,000 tests (based on the combined capacity of NHS Scotland and our share of UKG Lighthouse Laboratory Network capacity, so other laboratories that have assisted have been stood down.
A number of university and private laboratories remain part of the contingency plans should additional testing capacity be required. We are grateful for their continued support.