Pillar 1 NHS labs Covid-19 testing turnaround time data

The current average Covid-19 testing turnaround time in the NHS pathology laboratories is 12 hours, enabling healthcare professionals to deliver results as quickly as possible to patients and provide appropriate care.

Over 95% of NHS labs have an average test turnaround time of under 24 hours. Data notes:

• Pillar 1 turnaround time is defined by laboratories as the time interval between the specimens received in the laboratory reception to the time of reports dispatched with verification.

• Pillar 1 turnaround data is an average of turnaround time for RT-PCR tests completed at each testing organisation on day of data collection.