‘FED UP TRYING TO BOOK FOR A TEST’
PEOPLE DESPERATE FOR COVID TEST NOW TURNING UP AT CENTRES WITHOUT APPOINTMENTS
PEOPLE desperately trying to get a coronavirus test after days of trying to book online have resorted to visiting a testing centre without an appointment.
Symptomatic people have become so frustrated at trying and retrying to book online that they have been turning up in person with the hopes of securing a test on the spot.
Earlier this week, the Post reported people were having to drive hundreds of miles to get a coronavirus test as testing centres in the Bristol region are ‘very busy.’
Bristol City Council later said the shortage of available coronavirus tests in the Bristol area will take weeks to resolve and called the situation disappointing.
It came as NHS Providers said hospitals in Bristol had raised concerns over staff absences because of the lack of testing.
It has now become apparent people are turning up at a testing centre in the city without appointments because they aren’t able to book one online.
The Post visited the Victoria Rooms yesterday morning and spent an hour outside the site and there were no queues, witnessing just under 15 people leaving the test centre, including four children.
Annabel Ross was one of the people getting a test.
The 20-year-old said: “I wasn’t able to get a test online and I have been trying for two days.
“I tried dozens of times on the website.”
The Bristol University student said she wanted to get tested after developing a cough, adding she just turned up without an appointment to see if it was possible to get a test.
“You would hope the system would have been in place ready for September,” she continued. “They were brilliant in the test centre, but it is trying to get there that is hard.”
There are five coronavirus test centres in the Bristol region and the newest test centre opened earlier this month in Netham Park in St George, accepting people between 8am and 8pm.
The other test centres are at Bristol Airport – which is a drive-through testing centre – the Victoria Rooms car park in Bristol, Locking Road car park in Weston-super-Mare 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.
A woman told the Post she had been trying to book an appointment online for three days and “got fed up” so decided to go to the Victoria Rooms without an appointment.
“I have a loss of taste and smell and the doctor advised me to get a test,” she added.
She said at one point she went on the website at 2am to see if there were any appointments available.
“I just came here and there are no queues or anything,” she added. “I just went straight through.
I wasn’t able to get a test online and I have been trying for two days. I tried dozens of times on the website
Annabel Ross
“They are saying the test results could take up to five days because of the current problems.”
A man said he decided to go to the Victoria Rooms after having been trying to get an appointment online for the past week.
The Department of Health and Social Care said NHS Test and Trace is providing tests at an unprecedented scale – 200,000 a day on average over the last week – with the vast majority of people getting tested within six miles of their home.
A spokesman said: “There has been a spike in demand in recent weeks and the message is clear – only people with symptoms should be requesting a test.
“We are doing everything possible to overcome this challenge – including by bringing in new labs that can process tens of thousands of tests a day, opening new test sites, and trialling new rapid tests that will give results on the spot.
“As we expand capacity further, we will continue to work around the clock to make sure that everyone who needs a test can get one.”
Meanwhile, frustrated council bosses in North Somerset have written to health minister Matt Hancock demanding better Covid-19 testing for residents.
North Somerset Council leader Councillor Don Davies has written to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care calling for urgent action to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The move follows increasing reports from local residents having difficulty accessing tests locally despite there being three testing facilities in the area.
However, some people are saying when trying to book tests they are being sent hundreds of miles away.
Mr Davies said: “It’s just not good enough.
“We are working hard locally with the community to identify and stop outbreaks before they can spread.
“But being able to access tests is key to this, and time after time people are struggling to get tested and are often being sent hundreds of miles away.
“We have three testing centres in North Somerset, so there is seemingly no shortage of testing capacity and yet people can’t access the provision.”
» Anyone with symptoms should selfisolate for 10 days, and their household members should isolate for 14 days. Close contacts of confirmed cases are asked to self-isolate for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms, to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus.
Everyone is encouraged to continue to follow government advice on social distancing, self-isolation, wearing face coverings and practising good hand hygiene.