NHS medics complain they can’t get any Covid tests as health chiefs steer public away from site

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NHS medics are complaining they can’t get hold of lateral flow tests — as people in England are discouraged from ordering them online.

Lateral flows will be free to order in England until next week, when the provision is set to be dropped under Boris Johnson’s plans for ‘living with’ the virus.

But many people are already saying they are struggling to get hold of the packs of seven swabs, which have run out by 10am every day this week.

Dr David Nicholl, a neurologist in Birmingham’s NHS, took to Twitter to say he was trying ‘to do as my employer recommends’ and order tests for twice weekly swabs — but kept being told there were ‘none available’.

A GP and a woman who said she was a carer for clinically extremely vulnerable people also said they were struggling to get the swabs. 

Anyone trying to get a pack of Covid swabs from the Government’s website is now met with a message saying tests should be left for ‘people that need them most’.

The notice adds that most people not suffering symptoms of the virus now no longer need to test themselves.

Covid swabs have been repeatedly running out since ministers announced they would be cutting offering them for free from next month.

High street retailers such as Boots and Superdrug say they will keep selling lateral flow swabs for as little as £2 each. 

Covid testing has formed the backbone of the UK’s strategy for fighting the virus, allowing people to check whether they have the virus and if they need to self-isolate.

But lateral flows will be shelved in England from next week amid pressure from the Treasury to scale back Covid pandemic costs. PCR testing is also set to be scaled back.

The country will then switch to relying on the gold-standard Office for National Statistics’ weekly infection survey to monitor its virus outbreaks. 

Scotland is set to stop handing out free tests in May, while Wales will keep them available until July. Northern Ireland is yet to outline its plans. 

Venting his frustration on social media, Dr Nicholl said: ‘Been trying to do as my employer recommends, book lateral flows for two-times weekly testing.

‘None available. The new policy from April 1 (is) “be sensible”.’

Dr Peter Edwards, a GP in Bristol, also complained he could not get the tests saying: ‘Can no longer get lateral flow tests online.

‘Even as a DR seeing lots of sick patients, some very vulnerable, every day.’ 

Twitter user Jos Sy said: ‘Clinically extremely vulnerable family. Previously shielded. Can’t get access to lateral flows.

‘Schools, workplaces, leisure facilities, shops, all abandoned Covid precautions due to “personal responsibility”.’

Ministers have repeatedly tried to limit ordering of tests ahead of the deadline to ensure the kits are still available for those that need them most.

Last month they quietly tweaked testing rules so that people could now only order a pack every 72 hours, instead of the initial 24-hour gap.

And they have now put a notice on the website discouraging people from ordering the packs. 

It reads: ‘Most tests are now needed for people at higher risk.

‘In England, most people without COVID-19 symptoms no longer need to take rapid lateral flow tests.

‘We want to make sure tests are available for people who need them most.’

A Twitter account set up to ping out alerts when lateral flows run out of stock said England’s supplies were gone by 9.42am today, an hour after being replenished. 

Kits also regularly ran out at the height of the Omicron wave, when millions were ordering the swabs in order to ensure they were free of Covid.

Some Britons have been bragging of stockpiling ‘towers’ of the boxes containing seven kits at a time, even as the official website showed none were available. 

Although free testing is ending in England, the swabs are set to remain available to over-80s, the vulnerable and health and social care staff.

But confusion over this was sparked this week when NHS bosses warned their staff may be forced to fork out £50 a month for tests.

The NHS Confederation — which represents hospital trusts — called on ministers to guarantee swabs would still be available for healthcare workers, pointing out that their staff are still required to test for the virus twice a week. 

The Department of Health said more details would be set out ‘shortly’. 

A spokesperson from the UK Health Security Agency — which manages swab distribution — said: ‘As set out in the Living With Covid plan, from April 1 free tests will only be available for certain groups who are at most risk from the virus.

‘In preparation for this change, the gov.uk home ordering channel is asking users to only order test kits if you’re eligible for new Covid treatments, work or volunteer in a high-risk setting or support people who are at higher risk from Covid.

‘Tests should only be ordered after you have used up any kits you already have at home.’

Around 500,000 lateral flows are currently being carried out every day in England, alongside 250,000 PCR swabs. 

Scientists have questioned the decision to scrap free mass testing, saying the move was premature and that swabbing was essential to keep tabs on any future flare-ups and help curb the spread of Covid.

But business leaders, Tory MPs and some experts all backed Boris Johnson’s decision to scale back the expensive programme, which the Prime Minister claimed cost up to £2billion a month.

Yesterday Covid cases dropped for the first time this month after 94,524 were recorded.

But the tally from last Tuesday included four days worth of data for Scotland, because of ‘technical issues’.

Some experts say Covid cases currently driven by the more infectious version of Omicron, scientifically named BA.2, will start to fall before the end of the month. 

It comes after MailOnline last week revealed how health officials admitted that the Covid testing regime did not cost £2billion-a-month.

Mr Johnson told MPs in February the Test and Trace programme cost that amount ‘in January alone’ at the height of the Omicron wave.

UKHSA bosses later sneaked out a document to say the figure quoted by the PM was just a ‘volatile’ estimate and ‘may not reflect the true expenditure’.

Senior officials then wrongly portrayed the £2bn as the monthly cost, with Business Minister Paul Scully saying on LBC the day after the PM’s statement that the country could not bear the ongoing testing bill.

MPs said the UKHSA document, published on March 3 during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, raised questions about the Government’s decision to axe free swabs.