From UKGov/
Two new Lighthouse Labs in Newcastle and Bracknell will join the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities created in British history to help scale up testing capacity ahead of winter. Published 17 September 2020From:Department of Health and Social Care
- 2 new Lighthouse Labs to be set up in Newcastle and Bracknell, increasing capacity by tens of thousands
- Weekly data from NHS Test and Trace shows testing continues to increase each week
- 20 new testing sites opening across the country for this week
Weekly data from the 15th week of operation of NHS Test and Trace shows that 27% more people have received a test for the first time this week and repeat testing in care homes continues.
The 2 new Lighthouse Labs follow the previous announcements of others in Newport and Charnwood, which will scale testing capacity to help deliver 500,000 tests per day by the end of October.
The 4 new labs come on top of ongoing work to build capacity at existing Lighthouse and partner lab facilities. Measures taken include recruitment of hundreds of additional staff and new technology to boost the number of tests processed. Surge laboratories will continue to maximise testing as demand rises. A further 20 new testing sites are opening across the country this week, increasing the number of local booking slots available throughout England.
New labs in Newcastle and Bracknell will help increase capacity by tens of thousands, gradually increasing the number of tests they can process over the coming months. Newcastle will be able to deliver 80,000 tests per day by the end of March, and Bracknell 40,000 tests per day by February.