John Lewis Partnership rolls out NHS Test & Trace rapid Covid-19 testing
The John Lewis Partnership has become one of the first UK businesses to pilot and roll out NHS Test and Trace lateral flow Covid-19 testing in the workplace.
Working with the Department of Health and Social Care, the partnership introduced rapid Covid-19 testing at its national John Lewis distribution centre in Milton Keynes last month. This resulted in up to 1,000 staff and temporary agency workers volunteering to be tested up to three times a week.
Due to the success of the pilot, testing will now be made available at 40 John Lewis and Waitrose locations in England. This includes Waitrose and John Lewis supply chain sites, Waitrose fulfilment centres, the John Lewis textiles factory and some Waitrose and John Lewis shops.
The partnership said the scheme will be able to test around 16,000 partners and temporary agency staff per week.
Andrew Murphy, executive director for operations at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “We’re proud to have helped develop and establish a testing scheme that contributes towards the UK’s fight against Covid-19. We already have a wide range of measures in place to keep our Partners and customers safe and rapid testing builds on this at our busiest time of the year.”
Baroness Dido Harding, interim executive chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, added: “This pilot is one of many which will lay the foundations for the next phase of NHS Test and Trace with rapid, targeted testing which will allow us to identify even more people who may be unknowingly carrying the virus, more quickly.
“In addition to the testing taking place in work places such as the John Lewis Partnership, we are carrying out rapid, regular testing in hospitals, care homes, universities and other areas that we value and that we need as a society to stay open and stay safe.”
