Health Secretary opens first regional testing hub in capacity push eveningexpress.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eveningexpress.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
: L:R - Bernadette Findlay, Pamela Saunders, Stephen Hughes, Arwel Williams, Ann Hawthorn, Robert Gardiner. A new regional testing hub has opened in Glasgow with hopes of processing up to 24,000 samples per day. The first of three such facilities, with others expected in Aberdeen and Edinburgh in the coming weeks, the Gartnavel General Hospital laboratory has already recruited 72 members of staff to provide cover 24 hours a day.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman officially opened the site, which began work on Tuesday, saying it will be a “huge part” of increasing testing capacity in Scotland not just to deal with Covid-19, but for other testing needs in the future.
Changes to the questions asked of blood donors will ensure more gay and bisexual men are able to donate blood in the future. Currently, men are not able to donate blood in the UK if they have had sex with another man in the past three months, in line with previous expert advice. However, new recommendations, which the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is satisfied will continue to ensure blood safety, mean men will no longer be automatically barred from giving blood if they have had sex with another man in the last three months.
New rules for blood donors are aimed at being more inclusive thenational.scot - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thenational.scot Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.