STAFF at a testing facility at Glasgow Airport are being sent home early due to a lack of work to do, according to reports.

Despite capacity for thousands of tests a day, the UK Government admits the site has had only "more than 100 people...on most days".

The 17-acre long-stay car park at the Abbotsinch Road became a drive-through site on April 4 in a bid to help in the response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Initially, it will only test front-line NHS workers and will be closed to the public.

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But a source told the Scottish Sun that "lives are being put at risk" by what they described as a "failure" to use the site at full capacity.

They added: "It’s a national disgrace.

“This isn’t teething problems any more. This is incompetence.

“The centre has five booths and is ready to see thousands a day.

“But today most staff here went home early this morning because we aren’t expecting enough visits.”

As of yesterday, across Scotland 40,700 people had been tested so far.

Of that, 8450 were confirmed positive. 

Sadly, 915 patients who tested positive have died.

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Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Monica Lennon told the paper: “It’s a scandal that NHS and care workers are not able to access testing.

"It’s worrying to hear that the Glasgow Airport site is not working to full capacity.

“Fast-track testing for frontline staff is supposed to be a priority.

“The Scottish Government needs to get its act together and rapidly expand testing immediately.”

At her daily briefing yesterdsay, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday: “There is still work being done and needs to be done to ensure we use that capacity to the maximum.

“That has focused largely on making sure we’re testing NHS and care workers and their families.

“The most recent report shows more than 12,000 NHS and care workers and their families being tested.

"We are trying to get many more care workers through testing, given the severity and urgency of the issues in that sector.”

A UK Government spokesman said: “More than 100 people are tested at the Glasgow site most days.

“More than 88,000 NHS workers and their families have been tested in the UK. We continue to increase capacity every day in Scotland.”

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