Nottingham lab services firm lands contract to run mobile Covid testing roll-out

A Nottingham laboratory services firm has been handed the contract to manage the delivery of community-based Covid-19 testing through the use of mobile units.

SourceBio International will manage the delivery of the mobile COVID-19 testing laboratory service currently being deployed in a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) pilot scheme. SourceBio will oversee all laboratory operations and processes and will have responsibility for all clinical governance, quality assurance, staff training, sample processing and information management.

Currently, four mobile testing laboratories using Oxford Nanopore’s LamPORE tests for COVID-19 have been deployed in the pilot which has been launched to support the Government’s community-based testing efforts and ensure that COVID-19 testing is available for surge or increased infectious status within a specified region.

SourceBio will manage the mobile testing service on behalf of Mitie for the remainder of the pilot and is working towards continued involvement in a potential UK-wide programme.

Larger mobile testing units can process in excess of 1,500 samples a day, with 1,000 tests a day targeted for smaller vehicles. Patient swab samples are processed onboard with results provided within 24 hours.

Jay LeCoque, executive chairman, said: “We are very proud to support the UK’s national testing effort to bring gold standard testing to the local communities as part of the effort to get the nation back to work. The need for localised testing and monitoring of infections is critical as the vaccine program accelerates. This project also highlights our continued work with the DHSC on multiple fronts as they work to manage the pandemic as it evolves.”