THREE-HOUR VIRUS TEST WAIT FOR FRONTLINE HEROES
FRONTLINE WORKERS SLAM TESTING CENTRE QUEUES
Frontline workers fighting Covid-19 are waiting up to three hours at Paisley’s coronavirus swab site - for a test that takes minutes.
The waiting times at the Glasgow Airport drivethrough site have been branded a “joke” by one concerned dad whose daughter faced the lenghty queues for the test.
He says more should be done for frontline workers who are putting their lives on the line.
He also claims too many people are being asked to attend at the same time.
This is resulting in huge queues of frontline workers waiting for hours after their scheduled appointment.
The man’s daughter
was asked to attend at the Abbotsinch Road site at 6.30pm yesterday, arrived to find it “packed out” with queues of cars.
She then faced hours of delays before the test - which takes minutes - was carried out before returning home at 9.15pm.
Speaking to the Express, he said: “There was five test units and it seems to have been over booking the tests that caused such a delay.
“The test took three minutes but the rest was waiting in line at check points.
“It’s a joke that frontline workers are being made to wait this long.
“These people are all working so hard for us during this pandemic and this may have been their only day off.”
The temporary testing site is one of 48 set up across the UK to test key workers for the virus.
Operated by the UK Government, the Glasgow Airport site was opened on April 6.
Patients, invited to the centre by appointment, are asked to drive alongside testing stations where staff wearing face masks and protective glasses took swabs from their mouths.
The UK Government now has further plans to set up a further 96 mobile testing units during the month of May.
A spokesman from the Department of Health and Social Care said a total of 632,794 people have been tested in the UK, with the vast majority reporting “no issues with the process”.
The spokesman added: “Our aim as we tackle this virus is to make it easy, fast and simple for all eligible people who need a test to get a test.
“In addition to setting up a nationwide network of drive in testing sites, we have introduced home testing kit delivery, deployed mobile testing units operated by the Armed Forces, and built three new ‘mega labs’ to analyse test samples.
“This is in addition to more than doubling the capacity of the NHS laboratories, all in a matter of weeks. 632,794 people have now been tested in the UK, and the vast majority report no issues with the process.
“We are determined to ensure that everyone who needs a test can get one.”