Unable to access free lateral flow tests for their patients, frustrated customers are still making abuse of pharmacy employees. This is what a chief in the industry has said today.
Some Britons say they were unable to obtain lateral flow testing at their local pharmacy for as long as ‘two weeks’ because of a shortage.
People are sometimes unable to order online tests because of the issue, which is believed to have been caused by problems with distribution in Government’s free test program.
Some pharmacies are also required to display signs reminding customers they will not be able to provide any more tests for free.
Pharmacy bosses warned that supplies remain ‘patchy’. Staff are now being subject to ‘unfair and abusive’ customer behavior.
Pharmacists have previously pointed the finger of blame at the Government’s test provider after it emerged the firm ‘closed down for Christmas’ after receiving 2.5million tests to be handed out to pharmacies.
MailOnline was informed by Dr Leyla Hanbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies that the supply of pharmacies had been limited up to yesterday.
Some pharmacies had to display signs warning their customers about the lack of free testing (image from Library)
The situation is not improving over the last few days. Demand is very high because of the emphasis placed by governments on testing to help with self isolation. As Omicron cases rise, people depend on these tests for daily living.
It is unfair that pharmacists must endure abuse from the public and other aggressive behaviors.
But Dr Hannbeck says pharmacies still have the right place to sell lateral flow testing.
She added: ‘They are very accessible and also in hard to reach communities — and for people who cannot go online such as the elderly and those who don’t have access to internet pharmacies are the best option.
MailOnline was informed by Dr Leyla Hanbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies that the supply of pharmacies had been limited up to yesterday.
“In addition to monitoring the supply, we can also ensure controlled supply.”
Yesterday’s revelations revealed that the only company responsible for distribution of lateral flow testing to pharmacies was shut down by the Government for 4 days during the Christmas period. It had received 2.5 Million tests.
Alliance Healthcare has been accused of verbally abuse by pharmacists after being ‘closed down’ for Christmas.
Because he was on holiday, the boss of Covid test company that supplies lateral flow Covid testing refused to speak up.
Pablo Rivas is the head of Alliance Healthcare UK and the sole distributor for LFTs in pharmacies across the country. He said that he didn’t know anything about the crisis as he just returned from “somewhere nice”.
He was asked by the Government if they knew that the firm planned to shut down for part of the Christmas period. It is necessary to put the firm in quarantine.
Alliance Healthcare’s spokesperson later stated that they were informed by the Government that the company planned to close down for 4 days starting December 25, 2010.
Alliance Healthcare spokesperson stated that Alliance Healthcare had posted the Christmas Bank Holiday Opening Hours on its website, 26 November. UKHSA knew of the closing and communicated multiple times with pharmacies.
LFTs have proved difficult to obtain for millions of people. However, some are trying to make a profit from the free packs that the government has given to them. All costs paid by taxpayers.
Alliance Healthcare delivered approximately 9,000,000 lateral flow test kits to UK community pharmacies during the week beginning 20 December. Of these nearly half were delivered on the pharmacy’s next delivery (Alliance Healthcare delivers lateral flow tests as part of its daily delivery service) and the rest delivered over the following 2 days, all within the 72-hour delivery time agreed with the UKHSA.
Delivery of UKHSA into Alliance Healthcare is done throughout the day at the UK’s 11 service centres. More than 1 million were among the 2 million lateral flow testing we received in December. On December 24, we distributed over 2 million lateral flows tests.
Pablo Rivas is the Chief Operating Officer of Alliance Healthcare UK. He distributes LFTs only to pharmacies in the UK.
“Alliance Healthcare” resumed distribution in December after community pharmacies that were closed during Christmas, the vast majority, were reopened. Since then, 2,000,000 lateral flow test have been distributed.
Alliance Healthcare supports community pharmacy. Since the launch of Pharmacy Collect, Alliance Healthcare has distributed over 280,000,000 lateral flows kits. To support continued demand, we continue to support and support the NHS in its fight against COVID-19 and distribute more than 10 million lateral flow test per week. This is millions more than was originally planned by the UKHSA.
This is because Britons are still having difficulty obtaining lateral flow tests.
One user claimed she couldn’t access the test for two weeks. Lesley Tarling tweeted: “There is no lateral flow test in my area.
“My local pharmacy hasn’t had them in over 2 weeks so people who’ve been mixing Christmas over can’t take a test before they go out.”
Another user on Twitter wrote, “So the Government and Boris Johnson advise you to perform lateral flow tests periodically. I’ve however tried eight Telford pharmacies and found that none have stock!”
Elora Pharmacy in Benfleet (Essex) also asked customers for understanding, posting on Twitter that there were still supply problems with the lateral flow tests. We ask for patience and understanding from our staff.
“Many issues beyond our control, and we truly appreciate everyone’s cooperation. Thank you.
It comes as it emerged yesterday that eBay profiteers are trying to cash in on the crisis by selling packs of seven NHS tests for £100 on the eve of the reopening of schools and the nation heading back to work.
Sajid Javid said that Covid test supplies will be reduced over the coming fortnight due to a ‘huge demand’.
The letter was sent by the Health Secretary to MPs warning that it is important to prioritize testing for vulnerable groups, like staff at care homes and residents.
There are concerns that the economy could be hit by supply shortages if workers cannot get the necessary tests to allow them to escape quarantine in time.
Doctors and nurses have been identified by medical unions as among the people who are having difficulty accessing tests.
In an effort to control the virus, Mr Javid will use over 900 million lateral flow devices.
LFDs were doubled by the UK Health Security Agency, from just 120million to nearly 300million in December.
The government is also expected to triple supply for January and February, from the 100 million-300million mark per month.
Javid stated to MPs that “The arrival of an omicron variant has resulted in record cases and unrivalled demand for both PCR as well as Lateral Flow Device (LFD), tests.”
“This has invariably put strain on the testing systems, even with the remarkable scaling up of supply, logistics, and laboratory capacities. Similar challenges have been faced by other countries.
He stated, “We continually review system performance and find ways to increase its response time to customer requests for testing.”
“However, given the enormous demand for LFDs over the past three weeks, we expect that the system will need to be constrained at some points in the next two weeks. This will allow us to control supply throughout the day. New tranches of supply are released periodically throughout the day.
“We will make tests available to anyone who requires them. This includes vulnerable people such as those in care homes and workers in the critical sector of care.
The UK Health Security Agency had previously said there wasn’t a problem with supply. It instead blamed logistical difficulties, including the difficulty shipping many of its tests out of its warehouses.
Javid outlined his plans for the future, saying: “To meet the anticipated demand in the next few weeks, we will be buying hundreds of million more LFD test kits, bringing new products aboard, and speeding their deployment to public.
Royal Mail has increased its delivery capability to 900,000.00 test packets and PCR tests per day.
“We triple the supply of LFDs for January and Februari from 100million to 300million per month under our pre-omicron plans.”
Javid claimed that the Government’s daily processing capacity in PCR has increased to 700,000 per days, from 530,000 per person per day in November, and 600,000 now.
He stressed that the UK provides free tests for all people, regardless of their symptoms. This is unlike other countries.