HEALTH Secretary Matt Hancock has been urged to consider Bournemouth University as a coronavirus laboratory centre.

Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood has put forward the proposal as problems with testing continue across the country.

He has discussed the matter with BU Vice Chancellor John Vinney and hopes to hear back from the government shortly.

He told the Daily Echo: “I have discussed the matter with the Vice Chancellor because certain clinical standards would be needed for testing.

“He said they would be keen to do it so I told Matt Hancock Bournemouth University is ready to provide greater testing capability.”

Mr Ellwood said well-documented problems with testing centres and laboratory capacity need to be addressed.

He added: “A conurbation as big as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole deserves to have a bespoke testing facility because it would support the community and also speed up the results. A much faster thoroughfare is needed.”

He said he believes testing centres such as the one at Creekmoor are not being used effectively because there are not enough labs to provide quick results.

A spokesman for Bournemouth University said: “As part of our collaborative working with local partners, including Public Health Dorset and the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group, we are supporting efforts to provide additional testing sites where they may be of most use to the local community.”

Mr Ellwood said he is impressed with BU’s handling of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and added: “It was really reassuring to hear about the extra provisions clearly in place to support the students at Bournemouth University. They include social distancing and extra sanitisation.”

The government has come in for criticism after a catalogue of problems with testing.

Demand has increased further in recent weeks with children returning to school and students travelling across the country for the start of the university term.

Members of the public have been unable to book tests and results have been taking several days.

This has led to fears that people are mingling with others in the community when they are infectious.

In the latest twist concerns have been raised over the supply of vital testing materials for a range of conditions, including Covid-19, following a supply chain problem with pharmaceutical giant Roche.

On Tuesday, Roche said it had experienced a “very significant drop” in its processing capacity due to a problem with its Sussex distribution centre, the only one in the UK.

It has been reported that the shortage includes vital reagents, screening kits and swabs.

In addition to providing these chemicals and parts used in Covid-19 tests, Roche also provides materials for procedures including blood tests.