Coronavirus news - live: Warning signs missed by scoring system used across NHS as cases experience highest increase since June
Seriously ill coronavirus patients may have had their treatment delayed due to an "over-reliance" of NHS staff on a scoring system designed to prioritise care for deteriorating patients, it has been claimed.
The warning from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch comes as the UK reports its highest daily increase in case numbers since June.
It comes as two tests which can detect coronavirus and flu within 90 minutes are to be rolled out in hospitals, care homes and laboratories. The swab and DNA tests will lessen the impact of the virus in winter, enabling clinicians and NHS Test and Trace to differentiate between Covid-19, which requires sufferers to undergo specific self-isolation, and other seasonal illnesses, the Department of Health said.
Nearly half a million LamPORE swab tests will be available next week, with millions more to be rolled out later in the year. Meanwhile, thousands of DNA test machines will be rolled out across NHS hospitals from September.
Meanwhile, a more contagious strain of coronavirus has been identified in an outbreak that began in the Vietnamese city of Danang more than a week ago.
Follow the latest updates
