New coronavirus test at Northampton Hospital can provide result in under four hours

Patients at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) will be able to get a coronavirus test carried out on site and receive a same-day result.

The hospital has installed new machines in their laboratory, meaning swabs do not need to be sent off-site, a process which can take around two days.

Dr Davis Thomas, from NGH, said the quicker process would help them better allocate resources.

"This rapid diagnosis will help our teams to plan for surgery, make the best use of PPE and in some cases help with more difficult discussions on the next steps of patient care," he said.

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The testing machines can provide a result in under four hours Credit: NGH

At the moment around 100 tests a day can be carried out in the NGH lab, but the hospital are aiming to scale that up.

Multiple new testing sites have sprung up across the Anglia region as the government looks to hit its 100,000 tests a day target by the end of the month.

The new machines at NGH identify a gene unique to Covid-19, and the hospital hope the results will contribute to research taking place across the country.

Dr Thomas added: "As well as improving our patient experience by having these results back so quickly, we can also contribute to our research work in the NHS in clinical trials being done for treatments for Covid-19.”

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