NHS Western Isles say testing at the Lighthouse was simply taking too long
NHS Western Isles has confirmed that “the vast majority” of local COVID-19 tests are now being processed through NHS labs rather than through the Lighthouse laboratory in Glasgow.
A spokesperson for NHS Western Isles said in a statement that the decision over the switch was made “around a week ago” as tests results were, they stated, taking “longer than expected” and “longer than we considered reasonable”.
NHS Western Isles also confirmed that all tests associated with the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Uists are now either going to the lab in Stornoway or to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for processing.
“We have the capacity to manage this”, the NHS spokesperson concluded, “our equipment in Stornoway is very quick, and it only takes a couple of hours to process tests.”