Covid-19 testing delays are 'damaging' Portsmouth as teachers, pupils and carers isolate

DELAYS in Covid-19 testing is forcing people to stay at home risking damage to recovering businesses, youngsters’ education and struggling care homes, politicians have warned.
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Portsmouth is facing being pushed into an ‘awful state’ if teachers, pupils and workers are forced to self-isolate for weeks without knowing if they have the virus.

Now health and education leaders in the city are writing to health secretary Matt Hancock as people fearing they have the virus are being told to drive hundreds of miles or wait for testing slots.

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It comes as concerns have also been raised the drop in testing could accelerate a second wave in Portsmouth if asymptomatic people are unable to get tested.

Cllr Suzy Horton. Picture: Habibur RahmanCllr Suzy Horton. Picture: Habibur Rahman
Cllr Suzy Horton. Picture: Habibur Rahman
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Here’s why you might be struggling to get a coronavirus test

Portsmouth City Council's cabinet member for health, Councillor Matt Winnington, has written the letter with education cabinet member Cllr Suzy Horton.

In it the pair demand that the government boosts laboratory capacity, thought to be the reason for shortages, to end the ‘detrimental impact on children's education, workplaces and people’s wellbeing’.

The letter said: ‘Our education, social care, NHS and business sectors deserve to be able to deliver their high quality services without being hamstrung by ministerial incompetence.’

Liberal Democrat  Matthew Winnington. Picture: Sarah Standing (121219-3381)Liberal Democrat  Matthew Winnington. Picture: Sarah Standing (121219-3381)
Liberal Democrat Matthew Winnington. Picture: Sarah Standing (121219-3381)
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Cllr Winnington said: ‘This problem has just exploded in the last week where people are really struggling to get hold of tests. And even with the whole home testing in care homes the results aren’t all coming back.

‘We were having a 90 per cent success rate in contacting people with test and trace but that's completely pointless if the people that could have the virus can't be tested.

‘Test and trace will have completely collapsed - which could mean we have a lot of asymptomatic people walking around.

‘Because infection rates aren’t as bad here as they are in the north of the country we are not being allocated as many tests.

Covid-19 drive-through testing site at Tipner. Picture: Habibur RahmanCovid-19 drive-through testing site at Tipner. Picture: Habibur Rahman
Covid-19 drive-through testing site at Tipner. Picture: Habibur Rahman
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‘If this isn't resolved we could be in a really awful state.’

It comes as government admitted the delays in testing could take several weeks to address.

Cllr Horton added: ‘We have done our bit to make sure schools stick to the guidelines.

‘Then on week one when all schools are going back, which the government knew, we are falling at the first hurdle because we can't get the tests.’

General views of The Portsmouth COVID-19 testing center. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)General views of The Portsmouth COVID-19 testing center. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
General views of The Portsmouth COVID-19 testing center. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
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Mum-of-three, Kylie Love, from Milton, said her children had been off school for three days as two had symptoms but could not get tested.

She said: ‘I completely understand why they had to stay off school just to be safe. But it took me three days just to get a test, and that also meant my husband couldn't go into work in that time.

‘It was so frustrating. This is only going to happen more and more as we head to winter.’

The 30-year-old is due to start a new job as a carer next week.

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‘If I hadn't been able to get a test I would've had to say sorry I can't work,’ she said.

‘It's made me wonder if I will be able to work if this happens again.’

There are concerns this could also lead to a reduction in teachers being able to work.

Ian Potter, chief executive of the Gosport and Fareham Multi-Academy Trust, said problems in testing was the ‘biggest threat to schools staying open’.

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He said: ‘This is because if staff and those they live with cannot rule out that their symptoms are Covid, the workforce in education is too depleted, due to self-isolation, to keep schools open.’

Julie Summerfield, headteacher at Horndean Technology College, said: ‘They want schools open but have no system for testing staff that is efficient – we are as vital as the NHS.’

The care sector has been hit by delays in testing.

Marcus Kerridge-McColl, the manager of of Crescent Care in Southsea, is worried domiciliary carers are being ‘forgotten’.

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He said: ‘I had a worker who needed a test on Thursday. They were being told the nearest test was 400 miles away.

‘I keep hearing things like this and we need our carers out working otherwise it's going to put the care sector into another crisis again.’

David Fuller, manager of the East Cosham House care home, in Havant Road, Cosham, has the kit to do testing on site. Each resident is tested every 28 days, and staff are tested each week.

‘We're supposed to be priority but we are still waiting seven days for the results to come back,’ said Mr Fuller, a Lib Dem city councillor.

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‘They could be going around for seven days passing it around. I just wish that we could do it and get the results in 24 hours.’

Queen Alexandra Hospital staff are tested at an in-house facility.

The University of Portsmouth testing centre is open to the public, as well as staff and students.

It will open more widely with same-day appointments on the gov.uk website from October. It also has a walk-in facility.

Additional reporting by Neil Fatkin.

Current testing site set to be used for no-deal Brexit lorries

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THE testing site at Tipner is set to stop ‘in October’ with a new site soon to be chosen, council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said.

This is because it is needed in a no-deal Brexit situation for lorries to stop them backing up on the M275 causing traffic chaos.

A new site may not be in Portsmouth, he added.

He said: ‘What the government needs to do is get their act together and get the lab capacity so people do get their results.’

Roger Batterbury, chairperson of Healthwatch Portsmouth, wrote to both city MPs about his concerns.

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He said: ‘We at Healthwatch Portsmouth are very disappointed that local people are being offered tests miles away and we are very angry that the system isn't working at this puts lives at risk, and people don't know whether they are positive.’

Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt, paymaster general in the government, told Mr Batterbury she spoke to health secretary Matt Hancock ‘twice daily’ every day last week.

She has heard of cases of people booked in for surgery unable to go due to not being able to get a test done.

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said he shared the concerns about the ‘inadequacies of the testing system’ and has put pressure on ministers to act by asking a series of parliamentary questions.

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Mr Morgan told The News: ‘In Portsmouth, we have already seen the devastating effects of government’s failure to act fast enough in our care homes.

‘There is no excuse for making this mistake twice. Rapid testing of care home residents and staff must be a priority to save lives.

‘With teachers unable to access tests, the prime minister is leaving pupils without access to learning at a time when their education has already been hit hard, and risks schools closing just weeks after they have reopened.

‘The prime minister is nowhere near delivering the “world beating” system he promised and Portsmouth people are dealing with the consequences.

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‘That is why I have already written directly to the health secretary on this serious matter and continue to put pressure on ministers in parliament.’

The Department for Health and Social Care estimates a daily testing average of 199,768 in the seven days to September 10.

More labs have been brought into the system.

A spokesman 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 6 miles of their home.

‘There has been a spike in demand in recent weeks and the message is clear – only people with symptoms should be requesting a test.

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‘We’re 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.’

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