Covid-19 testing increased for health and social care staff across Bury

Increased levels of testing for health and social care staff are being delivered at a town centre location in Bury, enabling much needed members of the key worker population to be tested for Covid-19 and safely return to work as quickly as possible.

This centre, along with others in Rochdale, Oldham and Salford, has been created to provide easy access to testing facilities for local frontline workers.

Councillor Andrea Simpson, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “Having this centre in Bury is helping frontline workers to be tested closer to home and enabling them to return to work more quickly knowing that they are not a risk to the people they look after.”

These ‘drive through’ centres are being delivered by staff from the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group (NCA), which includes the Fairfield, Rochdale Infirmary and Royal Oldham Hospitals as well as Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.

The tests are for frontline health and social care staff who are self-isolating at home with family members who are displaying symptoms of Covid-19.

This service is only available for those eligible employees and not local residents of the area, and members of the public are asked not to attend the drive through locations as they cannot be tested for Covid-19 at this time.

Local health and social care employers will ask affected staff to make appointments to be tested at the site.

Steve Taylor, chief officer for Bury and Rochdale Care Organisation, part of the NCA Group, said: “We have worked closely with our local partners to put in place arrangements to test local health and social care staff. As a result of our increased testing and laboratory capacity we are now able to offer testing to a wider range of frontline staff; this will help ensure they can return to work as quickly as possible to support essential public services across Bury, Oldham and Rochdale.”

All current social isolation and distancing measures are followed by healthcare staff working at the testing facilities. Anyone attending the ‘drive through’ facilities travel in their own private vehicle which they do not leave at any time as they are only required to roll down the driver’s seat window to enable a member of staff to collect a throat swab sample. They then drive directly home once their sample has been collected for testing.

Samples are usually analysed within 48 hours, allowing those who test negative to return to work as soon as possible.

ENDS

Press release issued: 20 April 2020.

Notes for Editors

Northern Care Alliance NHS Group