One THIRD of people taking drive-through coronavirus tests in England now have to wait more than 24 hours for their results as figures reveal the vital swab-testing service is getting SLOWER
Waiting times for coronavirus swab test results have surged in the past week and now one in three people at drive-through centres have to wait more than 24 hours.
Damning statistics today published by the Department of Health show NHS Test and Trace is failing on one of its most important measures – testing people quickly.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had promised that all tests would be delivered within 24 hours of someone taking a test, but the service has again missed the target.
Between July 9 and July 15, the proportion of people getting their results within a day was 46.8 per cent, down from 50.6 per cent between July 2 and July 8.
The fast turnaround rate plummeted for the regional drive-through centres, where only 68.6 per cent of people got their results within 24 hours, compared to 87.1 per cent a week earlier.
The 24-hour completion rate fell in every other category of testing except home tests, where is has been dismally low since the start. It this week rose to 6.2 per cent to 3.3 per cent.
NHS Test and Trace data shows that the proportion of people getting their results within 24 hours from drive-through test sites and mobile testing units (solid lines) has plummeted in the past week