False positive covid test, grounds for complaint?

[WallaceandGromit]

A lad who my boyfriend works with tested positive last weekend. No symptoms but had a test before being admitted to hospital for his varicose veins removing! So his whole family have been worried sick, his twin boys have had to stay off school which has been very disruptive since they're in Yr 11 and he's self employed so has lost a week's work with no pay.
He apparently had a call yesterday saying that the swab had been checked again and it was a false positive. The family are understandably pleased he doesn't actually have covid but also angry at all the disruption for nothing. Has this happened to anyone else? They want to complain.

This sounds very unlikely.

It was likely a record-keeping or clerical error. It happens.

It happens and it's better than the alternative.

We are in a pandemic. Some inconvenience is to be expected!

There are many inconsistencies in your 'friends' story. In addition to the issues others have mentioned the NHS very rarely does varicose vein surgery now, you would normally have to be very incapacitated with them.

Always twins!

@AuntyPasta

Why is it always twins?

This ^ 🙄

At a time when the NHS has a large backlog of work they are doing varicose veins on someone who tested positive for covid - and he didnt expect to be off work afterwards - someone is telling porkies.

Who's lying? 🤔

What a waste of a great name.

Is your boyfriend isolating if they work together? Perhaps ask for a screen shot of this test that was "checked again" and is now negative before celebrating.

Biscuits anyone?

Bull.

They don’t retest old swabs

This is always going to happen in a minority of test cases. It's good that they are re-testing a cross section of samples and contacting those who've had a false result.

Some people will have had a false negative so things could be a lot worse for them!

Are the family fuming?

You woudn't need to retest the swab; as somoene said upthread, it may have been an instrument calibration issue which can reintigrate the data without retesting,.

@hexmeginny No they are fummmmmiiinnngggg!!!!!!!

@hexmeginny

Are the family fuming?

They're discusted because they think it's rediculous.

Are the family fuming? haha

They could consider asking The Daily Mail to publish their story with a photo of suitably "pleased that it's a negative test but angry" faces.

@giletrouge

Biscuits anyone?

I'm a diabetic, low carb to control it. Your photo really makes me want to go to the Range & buy a box of broken biscuits!!! Arghhh.

giletrouge really inconsiderate not to put a trigger warning on your biscuit porn.

This has just happened locally to me. To a school pupil. The local NHS Trust issued an apology on the news. They didn't retest though - there was some kind of mix up when the person got given the results - human error probably. The family were just pleased he didn't have it. Are you sure that's not what happened?

Are the family fuming?

Fumming, surely.

Complain to who? For what purpose?

I've name changed and changed loads of the details for privacy reasons so we'll done to those who spotted that 😉
What I really an interested to know is are swabs actually retested and if so would the person get written proof?

Instead of chasing the NHS for compensation, the man (if self employed) can go to GOV.UK and apply for ESA. It's the self employed version of statutory sick pay and will compensate a self employed person if

"they or their child are self isolating after a positive test or have been told to isolate before surgery".