Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Statement of 13 October 2014 on Ebola, how long it takes for the results from blood tests administered by the Public Health England laboratory to be communicated to the patient; and where that laboratory is located.

A provisional Ebola test result takes about four hours from the time the sample arrives at the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory, Public Health England, Porton Down, Wiltshire. The results are telephoned to the patient’s clinician as soon as they are available.