Government warning over Tamba test facility

Wednesday 13 May 2020

Government officials have expressed strong concerns about a new private facility offering drive-through covid-19 antibody testing at Tamba Park, suggesting it will spread "fear and confusion".

Orchid Care Services will be offering the pinprick blood tests to islanders at a cost of £74.95 to adults, and £50 to frontline workers, as well as providing "tailored solutions" for businesses.

But less than 12 hours after the facility's launch last night, government officials have warned islanders to be "extremely cautious before giving their blood in a setting that we cannot verify meets clinical standards for care".

The tests, which must be booked online in advance, aim to tell islanders whether they have a covid-19 antibody within 30 minutes.

According to to the facility's website - covidtesting.je - the tests come from manufacturer CTK Biotech, which has received approval for use in Australia, but not the UK.

A press release from the San Diego-based company behind the kits at the time of launch described the tests as "easy-to-use" and only requiring "minimally skilled personnel" to conduct, adding that it has "96.9% sensitivity and 99.4% specificity, making it one of the most effective preliminary tests for detection of covid-19". 

The new facility recommends that islanders get tested regularly, with a blurb on its site reading: "If you have tested negative for coronavirus, you could be even more inclined to seek that closer contact, the issue with this, is that people can be infectious for several days before showing any symptoms. The current incubation period ranges from between 2-14 days, (with one case in China reported at 27 days incubation), so why put our loved ones at risk?"

The website's terms and conditions also state that the company and its staff won't be held liable for any legal claims in relation to the tests or any inaccurate information on the website, while also stating that prices may change without notification to customers.

Pictured: A screenshot of the website.

News of the launch was first shared on Facebook by 'Ruffs Kitchens' - a page initially sharing the work of a charity founded by Tamba entrepreneur Jonathan Ruff, but which has since been used to promote sales of PPE items.

However, Orchid's Managing Director James Ahier told Express that Mr Ruff is not a partner in the venture, which it's claimed took £75,000 to set up, and does not have any financial interest in it.

"Me and Jonathan have talked extensively about testing as it’s something we are both passionate about, I have especially been keen to test our team and clients for a while now, having already had a number of staff exposed to the virus. We came up with the idea of a private test centre and Jonathan has been a great support to us not only getting the centre up and running, but also helping with some funding as this is a very expensive project to get off the ground," Mr Ahier explained.

Orchid, which was set up in 2014 and headquartered in St. Clement according to JFSC records, is regulated by the Care Commission.

The Care Commission, however, told Express that it only regulates Orchid's home care services, and that such testing falls outside of its review remit.

When asked what legal authority the care group has to conduct serology testing, Mr Ahier responded: "We are providing this service for the public on a consensual. We are not performing a laboratory test, our test is know as a POC (point of care) test which can be performed in a variety of locations including outside and is a similar process to simply testing your blood sugar."

Pictured: Orchid Care's Managing Director confirmed that Tamba Park entrepreneur Jonathan Ruff does not have a financial interest in the business.

Questioned about handling of the sensitive data resulting from the tests, he added that clients' privacy is being taken "very seriously", and that Orchid has "taken a number of measures to keep data flowing through our website safe and secure, including a firewalls and authentication processes".

"Data will not be used for anything else other than collating results," he confirmed.

Mr Ahier told Express that his company notified the government of its intentions and had "a conversation" about it, but noted that no discussions about data sharing had taken place.

However, he said that they would be willing to do so, "as it may be useful to them, as time goes on".

Despite being made aware of the intention to open a test site, a Government of Jersey spokesperson confirmed this morning that it had not been opened with their approval.

“This is not in collaboration with the Government. We urge Islanders to be extremely cautious before giving their blood in a setting that we cannot verify meets clinical standards for care," they said.

Pictured: Government officials issued strong words of concern less than 24 hours after the facility's launch.

“We are also currently investigating the claims of the organisers in offering these private antibody tests in Jersey.

“Any testing needs to be undertaken in the right setting, with the right laboratories behind them, in order to give the right results. Without these controls and without the right scientists leading a testing programme, this will only increase fear and confusion among Islanders.”

The Tamba-based test facility's launch came on the same day as Public Health England advised against rapid point of care tests in a community pharmacy or home setting.

"There is little information on the accuracy of these rapid point of care tests, or on how a patient's antibody response develops or changes during covid-19. It is not known whether either a positive or negative result is reliable, the guidance read.

"Currently, there is no published evidence about the suitability of these rapid point of care tests for diagnosing covid-19 infection in a community setting."

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation only advises on using such tests for research and statistical purposes.

The government recently launched its own antibody testing regime, with results from a pilot scheme revealing there could be as many as 3,300 islanders who have been infected with the virus.

Video: The government's antibody testing regime.

The initial plans were to roll out such testing island-wide, with pop-up facilities in each parish, if the pilot was successful.

However, the government has now pressed pause on the move while the numbers of islanders believed to have the illness remain low.

£1.7m has so far been spent on purchasing kits for antibody testing, whose results are being used to inform the government's lockdown exit strategy.

Express understands there are currently no plans to use them as the basis for 'immunity passports', as there has not been enough research into whether having the virus does indeed confer immunity, and how long any immunity might last.

The kits used during the recent antibody testing process were from supplier Healgen, whose kits had not been approved for use by the EU and FDA.

The government also ordered 150,000 kits from manufacturer DNA Workplace, which usually provides DNA services for the UK's family courts.