Health Security Agency to hold ‘serious incident investigation’ after 43,000 falsely negative PCRs issued
The UK’s Health Security Agency will hold a “serious incident investigation” over the issuing of up to 43,000 falsely negative PCR tests.
Dr Jenny Harries, head of NHS Test and Trace, said the reasons for the error were currently unclear.
Dr Harries, also head of the UK Health Security Agency, told the BBC earlier today that: “a serious incident investigation” will take place within the organisation over the error.
She explained: “I want to make sure if there are any further problems with other laboratories we can absolutely spot them as quickly as possible, so I will be conducting a serious incident investigation within the Health Security Agency to make sure we can mitigate any problems going forward” adding, that the “location of the laboratory combined with the geography and the time period” allowed officials to flag the error.
NHS test and trace suspended their operations at the Immensa Health Clinic in Wolverhampton this morning, after an investigation into claims that people across south-west England were receiving negative PCR test results from the laboratory had tested positive on a lateral flow device previously.
Immensa is a private firm that receives government contracts to process PCR tests.
