TESTING TIMES
‘IT’S DISAPPOINTING’ ISSUE WITH LACK OF AVAILABLE CORONAVIRUS TESTS ‘WILL TAKE WEEKS TO RESOLVE’, ADMITS COUNCIL
ASHORTAGE of available coronavirus tests in the Bristol area will take weeks to resolve, says the city council, which called the situation disappointing.
It comes after the Post reported that people were having to drive hundreds of miles to get a coronavirus test as testing centres in the Bristol region were ‘very busy.’
Yesterday, NHS Providers said hospitals in Bristol had raised concerns over staff absences because of the lack of testing.
The Post has also been told there were no tests taking place at Victoria Rooms last week as the labs were at capacity, but this has not been confirmed by Bristol City Council or Public Health England.
On Monday night the city council accepted that there are “ongoing problems” with the national testing programme, which is impacting on the ability for people to book a test.
In a tweet, the authority added: “This will be resolved, but disappointingly may take a number of weeks.
“In the meantime, if you have Covid-19 symptoms, please isolate until you can obtain a test and the result is negative.”
A Bristol City Council spokeswoman said anyone who has Covid-19 symptoms must self-isolate at home until they can get a test.
She added: “We realise there are problems with the national system for booking a test, but anyone who has a new continuous cough, a high temperature and/or a loss of taste/smell, must make sure they don’t closely interact with others.
“There are many common colds circulating at the moment, so you really only need a test if you have the specific Covid-19 symptoms.
“Everyone can protect themselves and others by regularly washing hands, covering their face in shops, other indoor places and on public transport, and giving everyone you see who you don’t live with space of ideally two metres.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said testing capacity was at the highest it has ever been.
But a spokesman said: “We are seeing a significant demand for tests.”
He continued: “New booking slots and home testing kits are made available daily for people with symptoms and we are targeting testing capacity at the areas that need it most, including those where there is an outbreak, and prioritising at-risk groups.
“Our laboratories are processing more than a million tests a week and we recently announced new facilities and technology to process results even faster.”
It is understood changes are being made to the system of allocating regional testing slots to ensure the distance limit does not go beyond 75 miles and that the number of testing sites will be increased to 500 by the end of October.
There are five coronavirus test centres in the Bristol region and the newest test centre opened earlier this month in Netham Park in east Bristol, accepting people from 8am to 8pm.
The other test centres are at Bristol Airport – which is a drivethrough testing centre and opened its doors in April – the Victoria Rooms car park in Bristol, Locking Road car park in Weston-superMare and at Paulton Rovers.
There is another one in the car park at Ashton Gate, specifically for staff at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.
The Post has been contacted by several people expressing frustration at being unable to book a test for Covid-19, in some cases after trying for several days.
When we attempted to book a test using the NHS booking system on Monday afternoon and again yesterday we were told there were no tests currently available.
A message said: “This service is currently very busy. More tests should be available later. If you can not book a test now, or the location or time are not convenient, try again in a few hours.”
Richard is someone struggling to book a test and said his daughter had had coronavirus symptoms for three days now.
❝ I have been trying to access a test for three days now and there are no tests available at all. I tried 50 times yesterday and no home test kits are available either. It is very worrying. Richard, 31, Yate
The 31-year-old man from Yatton, in North Somerset, said his three-year-old daughter – who was sent home from the child minder – has a bad cough and a temperature of 38.3C.
He said: “I have been trying to access a test for three days now and there are no tests available at all.
“I tried 50 times yesterday and no home test kits are available either. It is very worrying.”
Richard said there was nowhere local to get tested and that the two options he was given were 60 miles away over in Wales.
“It is a complete joke,” he continued. “We are starting cold season and, with kids gone back to school, we are all told to test if we have symptoms – yet kids might get different coughs every week.”
Meanwhile, two temporary mortuaries in Bristol and Yate are being retained as the region braces for a potential double whammy of a second coronavirus wave and additional winter deaths.
Bristol City Council has decided to maintain the place of rest at Sandy Park, which has so far not been needed, for another six months as the cost of dismantling and reassembling is the same as keeping it.
South Gloucestershire Council’s overflow morgue at its Broad Lane depot in Yate stored up to 18 bodies at a time when it was operational during the Covid-19 peak from April to July.
It was required when the number of deaths locally overwhelmed capacity at funeral directors, although none taken there were victims of the pandemic.
The temporary mortuary is effectively mothballed but is also being retained amid the prospect of future local outbreaks.
We realise there are problems with the national system for booking a test, but anyone who has a new continuous cough, a high temperature and/ or a loss of taste/smell, must make sure they don’t closely interact with others. Bristol City Council spokeswoman