Coronavirus: Health minister admits test claim 'not correct'

The health minister has admitted he was wrong to suggest coronavirus test turnaround times at NHS Wales laboratories had improved.

Vaughan Gething had told members of the Senedd times for people getting test results had got better.

But last week, only 66.3% of results came back within 48 hours, the worst performance since the crisis began.

The Welsh Government said the record for the Welsh Parliament would be corrected.

Responding to a question from Aberconwy Conservative MS Janet Finch Saunders, Mr Gething said he will correct the Senedd record "to be clear that there has been a fall in turnaround times in the Welsh facilities, as well as the issues he identified in England."

Ms Finch Saunders referred to the latest data which shows that 46.5% of tests results from NHS Wales laboratories were returned in 24 hours, and 66% within two days, a fall on the week before and asked when the minister will "get a grip on the test results waiting times?"

In his response, Mr Gething said: "It's not correct to say that this is about NHS Wales' laboratory seeing a reduction; we actually saw an increase over the last week in turnaround times.

"There was a specific issue, a technical issue in the lighthouse lab in Manchester that serves north Wales, and that's had a material impact on our turnaround times."

After BBC Wales asked the government to clarify whether the latest performance data reflects only NHS Wales laboratories, a Welsh Government spokesman said Me Gething "will correct the record to be clear that there has been a fall in turnaround times in the Welsh facilities, as well as the issues he identified in England.

"Delivery of, and reporting on, the current testing regime is complex, involving multiple datasets, and we continue to work with our partners to speed up the delivery of results from all testing facilities."