Helping to build one of the largest diagnostics networks in UK history
Since March 2020 our people and partners have been working with the Government on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing expertise in digital technology, procurement, supply chain, logistics, real estate and project management that underpins the UK’s testing programme.
We are incredibly proud of the work we have done to help grow this into what it is today. When the pandemic began just 2,000 people could be tested in the UK each day. Now, working with a group of partners across Government, the NHS and private sector, we’ve helped build a system that can test over one million people daily using PCR and rapid tests.
A project of such importance, size and scale is rightly under a great deal of scrutiny. In order to provide some context on the work we do, the expertise we bring and the impact our people have made on the programme, we have outlined some key information about our work to date.
The Testing programme in numbers
Deloitte is one of many private and public sector organisations contributing to the programme. Over 1,000 of our people have helped the programme to achieve some of the following milestones:
- Design, build and maintain the digital platform for appointment booking and test kit registration. This was live within three weeks of our appointment and handled more traffic than most major retailers’ websites.
- Co-ordinate and set up testing facilities across the UK, including 550 drive-through and walk-in test sites;
- Complete over 60 million PCR tests and delivered 4 million rapid tests for use across the UK;
- Provide logistical support and a digital solution to enable the programme to distribute over 25m tests to NHS staff.
- On university testing, facilitate the set-up of 250 test sites in 150+ higher education institutions across the UK. This included the delivery of rapid tests, PPE and other equipment;
- For asymptomatic testing, since the start of January 2021, establish 220 asymptomatic test sites to be run by Directors of Public Health for their local communities;
- Support private organisations to set up and run testing for employees with over 65,000 tests completed across industry sectors including food processing, testing supply chain & logistics, mining, automotive and retail.
The kind of work we do
Our people have extensive knowledge and experience in areas such as building digital systems for large organisations and advising manufacturers on supply chains. So, at short notice, we brought that expertise and experience together to help the Government scale this critically important programme.
Our role has involved working with DHSC and various suppliers to build and maintain testing capacity, with continued support for mass testing, home testing, community testing and testing at NHS trust locations and care homes.
It has also involved working in collaboration with the DHSC to scale Mobile Testing Units and continue increasing capacity across the national network of Lighthouse Labs, which are facilities dedicated to COVID-19 testing for the national testing programme.
In addition, it includes providing delivery support for antibody testing and surveillance studies, and transitioning Deloitte’s work on the testing programme to Civil Servants and local leaders.
But, what’s not included in our role
Deloitte does not run test sites, nor does it conduct swab tests at testing sites - that’s where other partners on the programme come in. Other providers also manage the set-up, running and operations of the Lighthouse Labs, the reporting of individuals’ test results and run the contact tracing programme.
Looking ahead
Alongside the roll-out of the vaccine, the testing programme will continue to be a vital strand of the Government’s COVID-19 response.
In the months ahead, while our overall number of people involved will scale down, we will continue to play an important role in this and we are proud to have been one part of this immense team effort.
