17/06/2023

A Bolton NHS trust said it saw queues of up to 100 queuing outside the hospital after being unable to get a test online.

Huge queues have been seen outside testing centres across the country amid a shortage in tests (Picture: Camera Press/AFP)
Britons desperately trying to get hold of coronavirus tests are even resorting to queuing up in A&E for hours amid a shortage across the country.
Huge queues were seen outside testing centres in Manchester, Birmingham, Bury, and Essex after many struggled to get an appointment online for days. People at Southends Covid Testing centre had been waiting since 6am for a test this morning.
The health secretary admitted yesterday that tests are now having to be rationed after facing operational challenges.
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust urged people not to visit A&E if they required a test or had symptoms, after seeing queues of up to 100 people. The town is currently grappling with the highest infection rates in the country.
The Trust wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night: A&E is currently very busy, managing a high volume of patients who have arrived requesting a #COVID19 test.
Trust chair Professor Donna Hall said Bolton residents had been trying to get tests via their GPs and the hospital, after failing to get them online or at mobile testing units.
Southends Covid Testing Site had enormous queues outside before 8am
NHS Bolton Foundation Trust urged people not to queue at A&E for a test after around 100 showed up (Picture: Twitter)
She told BBC Radio Fours The World Tonight: We had 100 people in our accident and emergency unit today, five ambulances queuing outside.
This failure of the test and trace system is placing huge pressure on the NHS and social care.
Were seeing wards full of people, she added. Weve now got 30 people who are Covid-positive and weve got five people in our high dependency unit so this is not going away, this virus is not going away.
Royal Bolton Hospitals medical director said staff have started to see a rise in the number of cases being admitted with confirmed or suspected coronavirus, following the spike in infections in the town.
Bolton is currently grappling with the highest infection rate in the country but members of the public have been struggling to get tests (Picture: AFP)
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
A testing centre at Belle Vue Sports Village in Gorton, Manchester, also saw huge queues on Tuesday (Picture: Camera Press/Brian Stark)
Dr Francis Andrews said A&E is very busy and urged the public to consider whether their concern if not life-threatening or serious could be dealt with elsewhere.
He said: Please do not attend the hospital here if you think youve got Covid -19 for testing, unless you are seriously unwell, for example if youve got difficulty with breathing, or if you have been sent here from your consultation with your GP.
Speaking of the spike in cases, he said: This is not what we wanted to see but I wanted to assure you that we are managing the situation and also we are well prepared for this.
Reports from across the UK have suggested tests have been widely unavailable, with those in coronavirus hotspots unable to book walk-in, drive-through or home tests.
An enormous queue was seen outside Southends Covid Testing Site at 8am on Tuesday and it reportedly ran out of tests just two hours later.
Southend-on-Seas testing centre reportedly ran out of tests at 10am on Tuesday (Picture: Reuters)
A testing facility in Bury also saw big queues (Picture: Reuters)
Members of the public queue at a coronavirus testing facility in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham (Picture: PA)
Joe Davies, who queued up, told the Mirror: I was able to turn up and get a walk through test today. It is capped but its impossible to get a test otherwise.
I spent the whole day yesterday refreshing the testing page to no avail.
Matt Hancock said yesterday that tests are now being rationed, with people in care homes and those with acute medical needs being prioritised.
He insisted the issue would be resolved in a matter of weeks as he came under fire in the Commons but stopped short of explaining the reasons behind the shortage.
Boris Johnson is expected to face a grilling over concerns with the test and trace system in the Commons later today.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.