Anxious waiting game
SOME Geelong residents are being forced to wait more than 10 days for coronavirus test results, amid fears delays are driving angst and impacting productivity.
Early last month the turnaround time for non-urgent coronavirus tests, which are sent to Melbourne, was up to 72 hours.
Kardinia Health chief executive Tricia Bulic said there had been delays in test results experienced across most GPs following on from the recent blitz that included asymptomatic people.
Ms Bulic said Kardinia Health in Belmont was contracted to only test people who have symptoms. Symptomatic people are instructed to selfisolate until test results are received.
“Unfortunately, with the recent push to test everyone we have seen our test turnaround times blown out to almost 11 days in several cases,” she said.
“On average we are seeing results anywhere from four to eight days at present, which is equally frustrating for staff as we are receiving many calls from anxious and concerned people regarding their tests and who are feeling unwell,” she said.
“The difficulty arises when workplaces are requiring medical certificates and the results are delayed, which only increases stress and confusion.
“We would anticipate that there will be reduced pressure on the laboratories to turnaround results now that the blitz is over, but the combination of testing people with and without symptoms has been a challenge.”
One woman, who did not want to be named, was symptomatic when tested at Kardinia Health’s drive through facility almost two weeks ago on Thursday, May 7.
The woman, a scientist, said she was yesterday stuck at home still waiting for a result.
She said trying to work from home had been “frustrating” given her hands-on job.
The State Government announced the two-week testing blitz — to better understand how the virus was spreading in the community — on April 27.
Barwon Health spokeswoman Kate Bibby said the blitz resulted in very high volumes of tests, which had impacted turnaround times in some labs.
“Statewide average turnaround times for results is three to five days, but we know with the volume of tests that some people are experiencing longer wait times,” she said.
“With the blitz finished, we expect waiting times will return to the usual time frame of up to 72 hours. People tested are now given confirmation of their swab, rather than medical certificates that only cover specific dates.”
A State Government spokeswoman said the blitz has seen a massive increase in the number of tests being processed.
“Victoria’s labs are working round the clock to process all the additional tests, but with so many coming in every day, it is taking a little longer to confirm the results,” she said.