Wales target for 5,000 tests a day abandoned

[life on mars]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-52356767

At least the nightingale hospital is ready.

[lisvaneblue]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-52356767

At least the nightingale hospital is ready.

I get embarrassed for Wales whenever Drakeford gives his daily briefing. Day after day he promised increased tests and now a big climbdown. And worse he's called the army in to assist in sorting out what should be a straightforward administrative exercise.

[trampie09]

Has most of the testing kits and PPE been pinched by England is the question ?

[Penywaun gentrified]

Straightforward? With supply chain issues? I would have thought employing the army frees up staff to get on with their much increased workload?

[lisvaneblue]

Straightforward? With supply chain issues? I would have thought employing the army frees up staff to get on with their much increased workload?

I understand the army is in to assist in fully utilising the available test stations. According to BBC News the other night the paperwork to get someone on the test list is a bureaucratic nightmare with paperwork being past through four layers of health authority before action is taken.

As for supply chain issues, what are they? If I can get an order delivered online from Boots, Amazon, and loads of other places within 48 hours or sooner, why can't Cardiff Bay.

If you mean procurement, now that's different. Apparently we had an agreement with Roche Diagnostics according the Vaughan Gethin, but Roche say not so. Then we had alternatives sorted but from Drakeford's comments seems not. And we can't even fully utilise the test capability we've got.

Let's not defend incompetence, especially on the handsome salaries our politicians are getting.

[Jordi Culé]

I understand the army is in to assist in fully utilising the available test stations. According to BBC News the other night the paperwork to get someone on the test list is a bureaucratic nightmare with paperwork being past through four layers of health authority before action is taken.

As for supply chain issues, what are they? If I can get an order delivered online from Boots, Amazon, and loads of other places within 48 hours or sooner, why can't Cardiff Bay.

If you mean procurement, now that's different. Apparently we had an agreement with Roche Diagnostics according the Vaughan Gethin, but Roche say not so. Then we had alternatives sorted but from Drakeford's comments seems not. And we can't even fully utilise the test capability we've got.

Let's not defend incompetence, especially on the handsome salaries our politicians are getting.

Tests for Covid19 available from Boots

Problem solved. Has anyone got Drakefords email, twitter account or mobile number?

I don’t think there’s any governing politician in the UK looking good amongst the shiit show taking place at the moment.

[life on mars]

Straightforward? With supply chain issues? I would have thought employing the army frees up staff to get on with their much increased workload?

which suggests bringing in the army , its not about theft from England , perhaps it about organisation, planning and ability, like many the health in Wales and education worries me , and its not all about blaming England in my view that is an easy out

[life on mars]

Tests for Covid19 available from Boots

Problem solved. Has anyone got Drakefords email, twitter account or mobile number?

I don’t think there’s any governing politician in the UK looking good amongst the shiit show taking place at the moment.

To be fair they have never seen the like, , and I don't think nay of us could do any better ,with regards to the NHS they are independent of government with decision making,government just sends the money the Resource ,oversight of NHS was delegated to them a long time ago , government is an arms-length body, see the Health and Social Care Act of 2012

[trampie09]

which suggests bringing in the army , its not about theft from England , perhaps it about organisation, planning and ability, like many the health in Wales and education worries me , and its not all about blaming England in my view that is an easy out

If the stuff due for Wales has been taken by England then in theory more stuff needs to be resourced at a time when all and sundry are trying to get the same stuff, if it's true that England has underhandedly taken our stuff then that is where a large proportion of the blame should lie.

[delmbox]

I go for my Government Approved Exercise in the park next to the stadium and they are nowhere near making full use of that testing centre, it's always empty

[lisvaneblue]

Tests for Covid19 available from Boots

Problem solved. Has anyone got Drakefords email, twitter account or mobile number?

I don’t think there’s any governing politician in the UK looking good amongst the shiit show taking place at the moment.

I agree. After Drakeford's comment yesterday about abandoning targets for testing, I just hear Vaughan Gethin on the 11am news saying that we are going to have to reach 5,000 a day before we can consider easing the restrictions.

[dml1954]

If the stuff due for Wales has been taken by England then in theory more stuff needs to be resourced at a time when all and sundry are trying to get the same stuff, if it's true that England has underhandedly taken our stuff then that is where a large proportion of the blame should lie.

You have no idea though whether its true or not. How is that helpful in the current situation ?

[light up the darkness]

I go for my Government Approved Exercise in the park next to the stadium and they are nowhere near making full use of that testing centre, it's always empty

Shortcut?

[BLUETIT]

At least they don’t need a “by-pass” road, to avoid any deliveries being caught in traffic.

Useless the lot of them, roll on the elections

[surge]

I go for my Government Approved Exercise in the park next to the stadium and they are nowhere near making full use of that testing centre, it's always empty

As per article:

The country currently has the capacity for 1,300 tests a day, although the capacity has not been fully used.

5,000 a day may have been the headline, a high number of tests may be the solution to allowing life to return to normal but this target being dropped is a distraction from question of why current capacity isn't being used.

[delmbox]

Shortcut?

Shhhhhhhh

[trampie09]

You have no idea though whether its true or not. How is that helpful in the current situation ?

I don't know if the English have taken it as an absolute fact but my best guess is that they have taken it when it was due to come to us.
Why would different prominent people who should know say it was the case, why did a company say they love the Welsh but their hands were tied and they could do nothing about it, obviously the English and that Johnny Foreigner firm were going to try and spin it, I think we have been done.

[lisvaneblue]

I don't know if the English have taken it as an absolute fact but my best guess is that they have taken it when it was due to come to us.
Why would different prominent people who should know say it was the case, why did a company say they love the Welsh but their hands were tied and they could do nothing about it, obviously the English and that Johnny Foreigner firm were going to try and spin it, I think we have been done.

First point is that we are cable of 1300 tests a day and failing to do that. That's an administrative problem. Everything set up for action and few customers!
Second, I used to be responsible for a lot of medicine contracts before retirement. In England the DoH was the responsible body and in Wales it was Welsh Health Supplies. Sometimes they worked together, but normally they operated independently. In my opinion they would not be underhand in any way at all.
If Wales hasn't got what it wanted, they Ive no doubt it was Wales fault somewhere along the procurement pathway

[Taunton Blue Genie]

First point is that we are cable of 1300 tests a day and failing to do that. That's an administrative problem. Everything set up for action and few customers!
Second, I used to be responsible for a lot of medicine contracts before retirement. In England the DoH was the responsible body and in Wales it was Welsh Health Supplies. Sometimes they worked together, but normally they operated independently. In my opinion they would not be underhand in any way at all.
If Wales hasn't got what it wanted, they Ive no doubt it was Wales fault somewhere along the procurement pathway

Trampie blames bad weather on England.

[Jordi Culé]

I agree. After Drakeford's comment yesterday about abandoning targets for testing, I just hear Vaughan Gethin on the 11am news saying that we are going to have to reach 5,000 a day before we can consider easing the restrictions.

Again another disappointing contradiction from two people supposedly working together. It colloquially called arse and elbow syndrome.

Still it’s not the only contradiction which has been evident. Has anyone here heard of ‘herd immunity’?

[Jordi Culé]

To be fair they have never seen the like, , and I don't think nay of us could do any better ,with regards to the NHS they are independent of government with decision making,government just sends the money the Resource ,oversight of NHS was delegated to them a long time ago , government is an arms-length body, see the Health and Social Care Act of 2012

LoM, I was being very sarcastic in regards LisvaneBlue compared sourcing and procuring the hundreds of thousands Covid19 tests needed to ordering ky jelly and picking up from Boots.

That said, I’m visiting the local pharmacy later and on very good terms with Jo and I’m going to ask in there if they got any spare.

On a serious note, this pandemic has raised the mechanisms of government (UK and Welsh) in relation to ability to cope in the future. Let’s hope the lessons of this particular learning curve are taken on board.

[trampie09]

First point is that we are cable of 1300 tests a day and failing to do that. That's an administrative problem. Everything set up for action and few customers!
Second, I used to be responsible for a lot of medicine contracts before retirement. In England the DoH was the responsible body and in Wales it was Welsh Health Supplies. Sometimes they worked together, but normally they operated independently. In my opinion they would not be underhand in any way at all.
If Wales hasn't got what it wanted, they Ive no doubt it was Wales fault somewhere along the procurement pathway

The accusation is not so much health authorities behaving underhandedly but people with power at the top either in Government or senior civil servants that deal with Government, the Welsh (and I believe Scots) NHS were P4P outperforming the English on CV testing and the like at the time, the English health authorities and UK Government were coming under pressure as too their lack of testing and lack of PPE for their workers and then all of a sudden firms started saying they weren't allowed to sell PPE to the Welsh, then testing kits apparently due for us went to England with a Swiss firm saying that we didn't really have a contract/understanding.
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck then it's probably a duck - if you know what I mean.

[Blue Dwr]

At least they don’t need a “by-pass” road, to avoid any deliveries being caught in traffic.

Useless the lot of them, roll on the elections

If Labour put forward a donkey (4 legged variety) in S. Wales, it would get elected.

[Heisenberg]

If Labour put forward a donkey (4 legged variety) in S. Wales, it would get elected.

Who has been MP for the Vale for the last 10 years?

[surge]

I wish people got more engaged with politics (you know, beyond lazy catchphrases on a football messageboard) so we could end up with better representation that those getting drunk in commons bar and missing vote on budget, to give but one example.