Exclusive: concerns raised that switch to prioritising NHS could delay identification of outbreaks
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Covid-19 testing in care homes in England could be de-prioritised to save scarce laboratory capacity for the NHS, public health officials fear.
The prioritisation of testing capacity to speed up results from hospitals has been raised in meetings between the NHS and local authorities, sources said. Delays in hospital testing are reportedly slowing down patient discharge and have caused some elective surgery to be postponed.
