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Preston’s Bhailok family donate 5,400 antibody coronavirus testing kits to the NHS

Posted on - 15th May, 2020 - 12:09pm | Author - | Posted in - Charities, Fulwood, Health, Preston News, Sharoe Green
Yousuf Bhailok, far left, handing over some of the testing kits Pic: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals
Yousuf Bhailok, far left, handing over some of the testing kits Pic: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals

A multi-millionaire family from Preston have secured thousands of new coronavirus anti-body testing kits for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.

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The Bhailok family, who have been urging Preston to help raise £1million for the NHS in Preston, have secured the testing kits.

A total of 5,400 antibody testing kits costing £50,000 have been donated.

Consultant chest physician and interventional pulmonologist at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, Dr Mohammed Munavvar, said: “This is a unique opportunity for us, and probably the first of its kind in the UK.

“These kits mean we can work towards a rapid, point-of-care antibody test, by allowing us to facilitate unique initial feasibility studies in our frontline health workers. Following this evaluation, it is our hope to extend this testing to our other healthcare workers and beyond.

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“On behalf of our staff, I’d like to express my gratitude to the Bhailok family for their incredible kindness.”

The Bhailok family have already donated £50,000 as part of their appeal to raise funds to help the NHS.

The Bhailok family with NHS staff presenting their donation at Royal Preston Hospital Pic: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals
The Bhailok family with NHS staff presenting their donation at Royal Preston Hospital Pic: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals

Mr Yousuf Bhailok led the project along with his family members Mustaq, Ayub and Dr Faisal Bhailok and his wife Lamisha who both work for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.

Yousuf Bhailok said: “The Bhailok family are proud Prestonians, with three generations born in local hospitals, and four generations having lived in the city since 1958. We are absolutely delighted to be supporting our local hospitals and the NHS.”

Read more: Royal Preston Hospital’s expanded critical care unit to open early

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Lancashire Teaching Hospitals said they were planning to first use the antibody tests to compare accuracy for existing tests on staff who had tested positive or negative for Covid-19.

Head of Charities at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Paula Wilson, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to the Bhailok family for their amazing generosity and continued support. The Bhailok family made a decision very early on in the COVID-19 pandemic to purchase these testing kits and worked hard to procure them under unprecedented global pressures, for the benefit of our dedicated staff members. I would really like to commend them for this amazing act of kindness.”

Read more: Preston NHS Heroes receive share of £85,000 welfare packs

Preston has seen 371 confirmed cases of coronavirus so far, with South Ribble a further 213 cases and Chorley 305 cases. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust who operate Royal Preston and Chorley Hospitals say 166 people have died from Covid-19.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines

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