Kettering key worker’s false-negative Covid-19 test raises concerns

The husband of a key worker from Kettering says he is concerned about the effectiveness of drive-thru testing centres after his wife had a false-negative result.

Anthony Richards, 54, said his wife, Lady Queen Richards, 38, works in a care home and had been unwell for around a week before she booked a Covid-19 test through the government website.

Mr Richards said: “We couldn’t get it on the Saturday, but we booked for Peterborough on Sunday (April 26) at 2pm.”

Later that day, Mrs Richards deteriorated and her husband called an ambulance. Mrs Richards said: "It was horrible, I thought I was going to die that day. I couldn't breathe."

The care worker was admitted to hospital at around 8pm and tested positive for Covid-19. However, her self-test results came back negative the following day.

Mr Richards said: “My wife had her text on Monday saying (the drive-thru test) was negative but when they took her on Sunday night she tested positive.”

Mrs Richards said: "I was swabbed on the same day. How come it turned out negative?

"In the evening I was in hospital, admitted, and they swabbed me there. I told them I had been swabbed in Peterborough but they said 'no, no we want to swab you to make sure'."

After the positive hospital test result, Mrs Richards was moved to a Covid-19 ward for five days. She was discharged on Friday, May 1 and is continuing to recover at home.

The false-negative test from the drive-thru site has concerned Mr Richards. The government opened a test booking system on April 24 which allows key workers to access Covid-19 tests.

The drive-thru sites are being co-ordinated by the Department of Health and Social Care but run by private companies. The Peterborough centre is operated in partnership between G4S and Boots.

Mr Richards said: “There was a choice of self-administered or someone to do it for you, but there was no choice when we got there, you had to administer it yourself.”

Mr Richards said they were only given written instructions on how to carry out the test.

He said: “It’s a swab of the tonsils and then as far up your nose as you can.

“For someone who has never done it before you cannot guarantee you’re doing it correctly and as far as we know, we did it correctly.”

The next day, Mrs Richards received the text which said her drive-thru test had been negative despite the fact she had tested positive from a hospital test taken the same day.

Mr Richards said: “This is my concern for people having the test, when the government text comes through, if you’re a key worker you go back to work but you might be carrying it.

“You need trained staff to do it. There will be people like us thinking we did it right. Or did we do it right and it was a dodgy test?

“It seems all the government is worried about is getting the 100,000 tests, not the accuracy of them.”

Mrs Richards echoed her husband's worries and said: "That's a big concern. It could be completely wrong and they are spreading it, it's unfair on others."

The care worker is also frustrated by the fact she was not tested again when she was discharged from KGH on Friday.

She said her note from the hospital recommends she isolated until Sunday, May 3, just two days after she left the Covid-19 ward but a week since her positive test results.

Mrs Richards said she still does not feel completely well and was concerned she might still be carrying the virus.

She said: "I've added on an extra week (to my isolation). I am going to have to add another week, it is not fair to go back to work like this.

"On the day before I went home, I asked could you swab me again just to make sure. I don't want to give this to my family, especially my husband because he is older.

"They said they don't do re-tests, so I don't know if I am negative or not."

By deciding to isolate for another week, Mrs Richards is off work and only receiving statutory sick pay which is £95.85 a week. She said it feels unfair that as a care worker on the frontline and risking exposure to the virus, she is now struggling to get by after catching Covid-19.

Mrs Richards said: "It's so unfair. I am pushing myself to get better and go to work because I cannot afford to be on sick pay. I think the government has to do something about it."

Mr Richards has tried to raise his worries about the self-test but has had not helpful feedback yet, he first contacted a number on the paperwork which came with the test at the Peterborough site.

“I rang them up, they took my details but I have heard nothing back.

“I also rang the 111 number and told them. They took my details and I have heard nothing back,” Mr Richards said.

The couple live in Kettering, so Mr Richards also contacted his MP, Philip Hollobone, explaining what had happened and said: “My real concern on this is people may be doing these tests and receive an all clear test when they are not.”

In his reply, Mr Hollobone said: “It is indeed worrying about the two different test results. No testing system will always be all the time 100 per cent accurate and there will always be a few exceptions.”

The Kettering MP said he was sorry this had happened to Mrs Richards and hoped she recovered.

Mr Richards says the risk of a false result was not explained to his wife.

The Department of Health and Social Care has not responded to questions about the number of trained staff available at drive-thru test sites, the accuracy of self-administered tests or the risk of false negatives.