Cornwall Council get hundreds of responses about the Covid-19 testing service

Hundreds of people have shared their experiences of the government's Covid-19 testing service with Cornwall Council.

The responses come after the authority appealed for residents to come forward and describe their encounters with the testing service..

The appeal was issued after reports emerged of people with coronavirus symptoms struggling to get a test and being sent out of Cornwall to get one, sometimes hundreds of miles away.

Cornwall Council says it will remove any reference to respondents identities before passing their accounts onto local MP's to make the case to government that urgent action is needed.

"2 family members from Redruth were offered, Wales, Plymouth, Birmingham or London for testing!! Done a home test instead, 11 days later still no results!!!"

"I notice you want feedback on covid tests!! I got finally got a test booked today (I live in Saltash) after 4 hours of trying! I then arrive at the test centre and I got turned away as I did not receive a QR code. I have symptoms, I am a key worker and my children can’t go to school and a key worker can’t go to work because of this error. I am very angry, anxious and disappointed! I cannot get any test on the website despite trying lots of Cornwall postcodes. What do I do now?"

"Our daughter has coronavirus symptoms and has since Friday. We finally managed on Sunday to get a test locally after days of trying every half hour to get a test and our nearest being in Pembrokeshire, I'm not sure if you own a map, but that four and a half hour drive isn't exactly local. This mess can only be resolved with more tests being available locally."

Some of the responses received by Cornwall Council

“I’m grateful to the many hundreds of residents who told us about their experiences with the government’s Covid-19 testing system. It’s clear from the sheer volume of responses that the system isn’t working, and I’m deeply concerned that people in Cornwall are suffering as a result.

“This isn’t about asymptomatic people putting strain on the system. The responses we’ve had are from people who have Covid-19 symptoms and are trying to do the right thing by following government guidance. We must do all we can to support them and keep our residents safe.

“Some of the stories we’ve heard are truly disturbing. From the carer self-isolating and unable to work because of a delay in receiving her test results, to the parents of a poorly child who were forced to travel almost a hundred miles for a test – only for the appointment to be cancelled when they were halfway there.

“These examples are as shocking as they are heart-breaking – but sadly they’re not unique. If we are to beat this virus, we need a testing system that is fit for purpose. I worry that at this present moment we don’t have one.

“I’ll be passing on our findings to our local MPs and asking for their support in the hope they can press decision-makers in government to make desperately needed changes to the testing system. We can’t wait weeks. These changes need to happen now.”

Councillor Sally Hawken, Portfolio Holder for Children, Wellbeing and Public Health

“These examples offer a disturbing snapshot of the current testing system and its flaws. They clearly show that changes need to be made if we’re to combat the spread of coronavirus in Cornwall.

“It’s particularly important as we head towards the flu season, when the healthcare system will undoubtedly be placed under further pressure.

“We stand ready to help the government in any way we can and we will do our utmost to keep Covid-19 case numbers in Cornwall low, but issues with the testing system will need to be resolved if we are to succeed in doing that.

“In the meantime, we’ll continue working to put additional arrangements in place to help boost local testing availability until the national capacity increases and will let residents know as soon as those measures are in place.”

Cornwall Council Director of Public Health, Rachel Wigglesworth

Most people with the virus have at least one of these symptoms:

• A fever

• A new, continuous cough

• A loss of sense of taste or smell

If you are unsure you can use the NHS Coronavirus online symptom checker, or call 111.

If you think you have symptoms;

• you should stay at home and isolate and only leave home to get a test. You should isolate for 10 days.

• If you are self-isolating or in quarantine, having been in contact with somebody positive, then a negative test result does not mean you can end isolation early.

The virus can take time to develop and so a test early on does not prove that you won’t go on to develop the virus. That means you could still be at risk of spreading the disease to other people.

Residents are urged to only get a test if they have one of the three symptoms, and to help save tests for those who really need them while we wait for increase laboratory capacity.