These professional, lateral-flow, blood screening kits are being used in hospitals worldwide, and are now also available in the UK having been given approval by the UK Government via the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

They are a finger prick-test similar to those used for diabetes, and are very simple to use. They are however certified / CE Marked for professional use only, so during testing there is an expectation of medical participation or supervision, such as a Doctor, nurse or pharmacist, or a qualified first aider. Full and detailed instructions are of course provided with the kit, and the professional conducting the test must wear the appropriate Government recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) which should meet BS/EN standards.

This coronavirus test is a point of care finger prick blood spot test and only needs 2 drops of blood to give results in 15 minutes. PCR and Antigen tests are viewed as tests for coronavirus that give information on current infection, whereas these particular antibody tests are viewed as being tests that give historic information. These on-site test kits provide cost effective rapid screening, which will determine whether the person is negative, IgM positive (infection within approximately the last 2-3 weeks) or IgG positive (infection within the last 16 weeks approximately).

In the event of a positive result, we recommend a PCR test to confirm the results. If you wish to conduct a private PCR test via our laboratory, the results will be available in 48 hours (although this is often within 24 hours).