MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Lad has had the raging snots for a couple of days.
Said at school today he can't smell anything. Which he can't cause his snoz is full of snot.
So wife and I get phone calls, we're both teachers. Get home.
Then spend all afternoon trying to book a test.
The closest test was showing in ironbridge at 6:30. About 20 miles away. Repeatedly tried to book this only to be told that they had a glitch on the system and the appointment didn't exist.
Schools should have access to testing as key workers but, in reality, they don't. Nothing available.
We managed to get through on the phone, just spoke to them but the only appointment they could offer us was in London, 107 miles away, giving us an hour and 30 minutes to get to centre of London.
We are however, the leading nation in testing. But I still can't go back to work.
Because my lad has the snots.
My wife was offered a test yesterday via the symptom reporting app, on the basis of having had a migraine (totally unrelated to my MIL coming to visit).
Nearest test was London, about an hour's drive away. There's a test centre about 2 miles away that seems to be mostly deserted.
Not going to London for that.
We are in the middle of a pandemic. No-one has all the answers and no-one has a perfect system. Does it suck a bit? Yes. Will you, like many others, have to suck it up? Yup.
It's a total shambles. What a surprise. These idiots can't do anything right. Total incompetents the lot of them.
With cold symptoms why was he at school in the first place?
Apparently it's not capacity in the testing centres that's the problem, it's lab capacity to process the tests. Which doesn't make sense, because they're claiming there are more tests available than are being used. And if it's just a problem with the location of the available labs, they could courier the samples to labs much more effectively than asking potentially ill people to travel hundreds of miles.
We are in the middle of a pandemic.
We (sorry Serco) have had MONTHS to prepare for the return to school. That they are not up to the job should come as no surprise to anyone, just look at their track record. And stop them and Baroness Dido Harding using that NHS badge, it's just giving the NHS a bad name.
Yep we’ve run out of testing capacity. And they are about to break international law in the Brexit negotiations.
Surely there has to be a mechanism for getting rid...
It’s a total shambles. What a surprise. These idiots can’t do anything right. Total incompetents the lot of them.
Them? Who's them?
We are in the middle of a pandemic. No-one has all the answers and no-one has a perfect system. Does it suck a bit? Yes. Will you, like many others, have to suck it up? Yup.
Have other countries managed it so far without this sh*tshow? Why yes, yes they have. Does it seem the UK is lagging behind what it regards as its peers in basic logistical exercises? Oh yes.
We drove past the testing centre on the outskirts of York yesterday, I couldn't see any cars waiting or queues.
No idea why.
With cold symptoms why was he at school in the first place?
Because 'cold symptoms' aren't covid symptoms.
The country would ground to a halt if every one with a cold isolates or needs a test.
We had to book a couple of tests for our daughter and my MIL in the last few days. Daughter was booked in straight away (we were doing it at 11pm at night) at a test centre relatively close to us. We tried all day yesterday for my MIL only to finally get a test booked in the evening for the next day, again relatively local.
Were in London so YMMV but it seems the system copes better in the evenings and they might release more tests then. I'd say keep trying and you might have more luck later this evening.
On the positive side, the centre we went to (Gatwick) was pretty well run and a test a 11am yesterday produced results at 8 this morning. Negative so just enough time to get the daughter dressed and dropped off at school.
Good luck!
With cold symptoms why was he at school in the first place?
Schools would be empty!
With cold symptoms why was he at school in the first place?
Because a snotty nose is the default position for kids in school?
Similar to a colleague. His kids' school has shut now 3 days into term as 2 kids are awaiting test results. Unfortunately those 2 kids covered both school bubbles so the school has shut.
Try around 8pm, that's when they go live.
It’s a total shambles. What a surprise. These idiots can’t do anything right. Total incompetents the lot of them.
Them? Who’s them?
Why don't we start with Johnson and work our way down.
It’s a total shambles. What a surprise. These idiots can’t do anything right. Total incompetents the lot of them.
So what’s the answer genius?
Same thing (unsurprisingly) happened in Scotland a few weeks ago with the new school term. Testing centres were inundated with little Olivias & Jacks with runny noses and sniffles. Absolutely zero point in further testing stations as they’re all empty again now.
It’s a total shambles. What a surprise. These idiots can’t do anything right. Total incompetents the lot of them.
So what’s the answer genius?
Same thing (unsurprisingly) happened in Scotland a few weeks ago with the new school term. Testing centres were inundated with little Olivias & Jacks with runny noses and sniffles. Absolutely zero point in further testing stations as they’re all empty again now.
Did you see my name on the ballot papers saying I had the ability to run the country..... No, you didn't but you did see that well known incompetent Johnson..
Friend of mine in Copenhagen was feeling a bit poorly. She walked right in to a test centre, got swabbed, result half an hour later.
But they're not "world beating" I suppose.
Total incompetents the lot of them.
Mrs_oab was given a test within three hours, at our nearest centre, and had results within 6 hours of test.
Fabulous work NHS.
It is getting a wee bit ridiculous. My daughter and her family has been in isolation twice due to ‘positive’ swab tests. Second time she has signed up for antibody testing to monitor how quickly antibodies disappear only to be told the ‘positive’ person has no antibodies and it’s likely to be a false positive. Apparently there are a lot of those. She was told every laboratory possible is doing the testing and some are not very good! Doesn’t fill you with confidence.
Who do I blame, Boris is at the top of the list but he seems to be MIA.
Friend of mine in Copenhagen was feeling a bit poorly. She walked right in to a test centre, got swabbed, result half an hour later
The fastest tests we use are 50 minutes machine time. Need to add transport to the lab, batching of samples, processing samples and reporting time onto that as well. Plus fitting that into all the other work the lab still needs to do, with the same number of staff.
You could go to the test centre and try...friend did this for their daughter and they were tested there and then no problem, result back in under a day. Listening to what he'd gone through trying to get a test is as per previous posts on this thread so in frustration he decided to chance it as his local test centre.
Yesterday my PhD students house mates could walk into the new test center at Leeds without an appointment (on University property no less). Today he needed a test (different test and trace call!), went down to totally empty test centre to be told the walk in tests had been cancelled. Went online and nearest bookable one was Inverness airport!!!
Needless to be said, he isn’t getting tested and just working on the basis if his housemates are positive, so is he!
Why don’t we start with Johnson and work our way down.
Agree. He leads the party his gov' are dealing with the pandemic just like losing is the managers fault in football this is all Johnson's fault.
Surprised by the regional variation so wonder how much is also down to local government. My son had a temperature at weekend which is unusual for him. Tested within 4hrs on Sunday and result by 10am next day. Wife and I were symptom free so didn’t book but got to test centre and they said we might as well get tested anyway-just had to register it retrospectively which was easy.
We are in the middle of a pandemic. No-one has all the answers and no-one has a perfect system. Does it suck a bit? Yes. Will you, like many others, have to suck it up? Yup.
I wish you were right. But your wrong. The incompetence is a direct result of a failure in leadership by Johnson (or if you like Cummings) and the entire Conservative party.
I can tell you straight up that things are working better in Scotland despite the attempts by Johnson to p@ss on it for everyone. But yeah, you believe what you believe if it makes you happy.
Home tests & Drive thru tests seem to be paused in England
What's disgraceful is the government just spent a month saying it was safe to go back to work, eating out, drinking,use city centre cafes & shops, on the tube & back to school
This rise in testing demand was 100% predictible
Very worrying that care homes are saying they can't get tests either
Just wait until winter starts proper 😬
The thing that Starmer needs to be leading with at PMQs is all the comments from the government that schools would go back when testing and track and trace was up to speed.
Alas it really doesn't matter what Starmer does at PMQs. Like you I used to think that logic and right will prevail, but this last two years has made me realise quite how pigshit thick your average UK voter actually is.
So TBH Johnson and crew can do whatever the **** they want for the next 3 years and it will make no difference as half the electorate is too stupid to realise what is actually going on.
No COVID test. Nightmare.
stoofus
Free Member
Lad has had the raging snots for a couple of days.Said at school today he can’t smell anything. Which he can’t cause his snoz is full of snot.
So wife and I get phone calls, we’re both teachers. Get home.
Then spend all afternoon trying to book a test.
The closest test was showing in ironbridge at 6:30. About 20 miles away. Repeatedly tried to book this only to be told that they had a glitch on the system and the appointment didn’t exist.
Schools should have access to testing as key workers but, in reality, they don’t. Nothing available.
We managed to get through on the phone, just spoke to them but the only appointment they could offer us was in London, 107 miles away, giving us an hour and 30 minutes to get to centre of London.
We are however, the leading nation in testing. But I still can’t go back to work.
Because my lad has the snots.
so, few days off work then, happy days.
We drove past the end of the queue to the Ironbridge testing site earlier; it was three miles away from the site. It must have been chaos.
johndoh
Free Member
We are in the middle of a pandemic. No-one has all the answers and no-one has a perfect system. Does it suck a bit? Yes. Will you, like many others, have to suck it up? Yup.
*waves from Australia* - true, nobody has the "perfect" system, but other countries seem to be doing pretty well in comparison. We are watching events back home in the UK in disbelief - a shamozzle is the appropriate Australian term.
A relatively small quarantine leak, and poorly enforced social distancing in Victoria has caused a second peak in Australia far in excess of the first (deaths have gone from 56 total in the first peak, to 770 so far in the second - eight today alone). The new case numbers are dropping now, but only after a VERY strict lockdown in Melbourne for the last 8 weeks, and we're heading into summer. It seems inevitable to me that the UK is going to have a significant resurgence in the coming months...... stock-up on bog roll!
raging snots
a very rare symptom of covid - a running nose is not one of the symptoms that means you have to get a test. Heck our department would be off if that was the case. 70% of my class have colds at the moment.
OP - you could have arranged for a postal test kit.
I heard yesterday that the Ironbridge centre was mad.
Have to agree though, a cold is not COVID symptoms, something we have fallen out with our sons school about
It’s a total shambles. What a surprise. These idiots can’t do anything right. Total incompetents the lot of them.
Love it how people always resort to this argument. It's a shambles, it would have also been a shambles under Labour.
It is getting a wee bit ridiculous. My daughter and her family has been in isolation twice due to ‘positive’ swab tests. Second time she has signed up for antibody testing to monitor how quickly antibodies disappear only to be told the ‘positive’ person has no antibodies and it’s likely to be a false positive. Apparently there are a lot of those. She was told every laboratory possible is doing the testing and some are not very good! Doesn’t fill you with confidence.
Or it could be a false negative on the antibody test? Or that she did have virus in her nose/throat but did not actually become infected by it? Or that she did have an infection but the antibodies cleared quickly, or were very slow in developing so had not yet reached the threshold for a positive.
Love it how people always resort to this argument. It’s a shambles, it would have also been a shambles under Labour.
I love how, whenever this government ****s something up, the generic deflection is to say it would have been worse under Corbyn etc.
We (sorry Serco) have had MONTHS to prepare for the return to school.
Serco aren’t running the whole system, I’m no fan of Serco but it’s highly likely that the problem is not a serco one... There’s government departments involved in managing serco and all the other partners and they lack leadership and decision making - id love to blame Hancock and Johnson for that but I doubt it was any better under their predecessors.
OP – you could have arranged for a postal test kit.
is that a fact? I assumed the hysteria in the media meant no postal tests either?
Have to agree though, a cold is not COVID symptoms, something we have fallen out with our sons school about
You are quite right, and Jason Leich write to every parent in Scotland to say that (email via schools) BUT the OP’s son reported a loss of smell which is a symptom. It’s most likely not the covid total loss of taste and smell but it’s not really the schools job to interpret that - it’s why there is a testing process!
But I’ve seen people on twitter saying sore throat so went to get tested. There is clearly a problem - I’m not sure if that is the prescreening to qualify for a test; or the inability of people in this country to follow instructions.
I’ve seen people on twitter saying sore throat so went to get tested. There is clearly a problem
The symptoms requiring testing are cough, temp and loss of smell, but at my work we've been threatened with being sacked for negligence if we come to work and cause an outbreak, that means anyone with any cold/flu like symptoms wants to be tested.
Who can get a test
Anyone with coronavirus symptoms can get a test.Coronavirus symptoms are:
a high temperature
a new, continuous cough
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
You can get a test for someone you live with if they have these symptoms. Do not get tests for people you live with who do not have these symptoms.
The only false statement in that is in the first line, it seems. The OP was absolutely correct to seek a test for his kid.
I too drove past the Ironbridge testing station yesterday (the one on the park and ride carpark, don’t know if there’s another one?) twice, late morning and mid afternoon, both times it looked dead
I too drove past the Ironbridge testing station yesterday (the one on the park and ride carpark, don’t know if there’s another one?) twice, late morning and mid afternoon, both times it looked dead
I think the bottleneck is in the labs so the testing stations may look empty since there's little point in them collecting anything if the samples can't then be tested.
Took our lad to Haydock Racecourse drive-through test place on Monday eve. He had a bit of a cough.
It was not busy, but other parents were unable to get a slot there for some reason.
Still waiting for result, hopefully get it today.
We've been trying two days now, absolutely nothing available. This f'ing government. This level of demand was entirely predictable, the shortage is pure incompetence.
Briefly at one point we were offered one 60 miles away, clicked through the next screen and it crashed, started again, and nothing available again.
don't believe the wesite when it says "new slots are released at 8" I went in at 2pm and there was only far away slots, went back at 6pm and slots at the nearest test centre was there
Just seen a tweet from an MP stating that someone was sent from Coventry to Moffat for a test!
The symptoms requiring testing are cough, temp and loss of smell, but at my work we’ve been threatened with being sacked for negligence if we come to work and cause an outbreak, that means anyone with any cold/flu like symptoms wants to be tested.
So the problem with local demand spikes may be (1) Employers being dicks; (2) Employees being dicks. That may be a failing in gov to communicate effectively, but if employees come to work with flu-like symptoms in a normal year I'd suggest that is a stupid/selfish culture and probably bad for business.
OP – you could have arranged for a postal test kit.
is that a fact? I assumed the hysteria in the media meant no postal tests either?
Home tests have been in crisis since August, my MIL. took 5 days to get results,
only 19% of tests were back in 48hrs
Not media hysteria btw, that's according to governments own stats
The government encouraged everyone to get back to work & in resteraunts etc
There's always a lag in cases & hospitalisations, gonna be more so in younger population who seen to be asymptomatic & are more likely to work in hospitality, etc
This increase in demand was inevitable, only the government seem to have been caught off guard, mask wearing still seems to be optional in shops & on the trains.
There was a good article in the BMJ a few days ago that talks about the serious limitations with antibody testing at the moment. Its not surprising that current antibody tests come back negative for a lot of people who have had it, and a negative test doesn't necessarily mean they don't have any immunity.
https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3364
I understand that there are also concerns with PCR testing (what the NHS test centers are using to say if you are currently infected) producing false positives in people who have traces of virus that has already been dealt with by their immune system.
We’ve been trying two days now, absolutely nothing available.
Home test kit? My experience is ordered day 1, delivered (via amazon) and swabs sent off day two, results emailed through day 4.
Love it how people always resort to this argument. It’s a shambles, it would have also been a shambles under Labour.
Oh I don't know.
Had to take my eldest for a test last week.
Test centre is 5 mins away, appointments available within 30 mins. Arrived to see a small queue, about 5 mins wait and they're currently running at 1/6th total capacity. Results back in 8 hours or so.
We're in Wales and it's being run by Labour Welsh Gov.
As I said according to government stats home testing is seeing bigger & bigger delays,
Love it how people always resort to this argument. It’s a shambles, it would have also been a shambles under Labour.
No one can say for sure, but Johnson missed 5 of the most crucial COBR meetings of any PMs career because he was busy on a 'working holiday' at Chevening (sorting out his divorce) when he did come back he & cabinet ignored all social distancing rules & gave each other covid, bragged about shaking hands with Covid patients.
Every single cabinet member backed the very very obvious eye test lies of Cummings rule breaking, whilst lecturing us about common sense.
both Hancock & Johnson have lied consistently & very publicly about testing. Appointed completely inappropriate Tory MPs wife Dido Harding to head up testing .....
Englands excess death rate leads the world
Can never say for sure , but it'd be hard to imagine them getting it much worse
sharkbait
Home test kit? My experience is ordered day 1, delivered (via amazon) and swabs sent off day two, results emailed through day 4.
How do you get one from Amazon? When I search i'm redirected to a page about how they're partnering with the NHS, further details to follow.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?node=21103026031
Asking via the NHS website however just gives the same "computer says no result" as i got earlier
We are in the middle of a pandemic. No-one has all the answers and no-one has a perfect system.
Jesus. Has it really got to the point where basic logistics is now seen as something that's unachievable by a vaguely competent government? The reason we as a country can't organise such a simple thing is because the entire system behind it is corrupt.
Serco et al are pocketing millions with almost no fear of comeback if they don't deliver. Time and again these services companies fail in their obligations, but then are given more contracts in future. No one is held accountable, no one suffers by doing a shit job, and no one wants to take responsibility. It's monopolism, and it comes with predictable results.
We have a local spike so there is a mobile testing centre in the leisure centre car park. Colleague lost sense of taste went to book a test nearest was kendal. There's at least 2 mobile and 1 permanent test centre closer. Including the one in the same town as him, not 75miles away.
Something's wrong somewhere.
How do you get one from Amazon?
No, you book through the NHS site and it's delivered through the Amazon network - or at least ours were to further N Wales.
why do we think there is a lack of available testing?
I don't think there is necessarily a lack of available testing, just a lack of ability to organise a piss-up in a brewery. There may well be a lack of capacity in terms of processing those tests in the lab, mind you.
Or a huge number of people who don't need a test, wanting a test.Then blaming the Govt when they can't get it, because it's oversubscribed, by them.
Awesome.
Let the Singletrack cancelling begin.
Matt Hancock on news this morning telling people oy test if you have symptoms
My brother's boss told all staff in office to get test as someone has tested +ve or he may have to close for good
He got a test this morning at mobile site this morning
We’re in Wales and it’s being run by Labour Welsh Gov.
Another vote for the Cardiff centre. We got an appt within 2 hours that evening, results in just under 24hrs
However I don't think they let you book for the following day, just the same day.
Or a huge number of people who don’t need a test, wanting a test.Then blaming the Govt when they can’t get it, because it’s oversubscribed, by them.
Can you share your data on the number of people who don't need a test but are requesting a test and I am also interested in what determines that they didn't need a test so you will need to supply that too.
My brother’s boss told all staff in office to get test as someone has tested +ve or he may have to close for good
So they had no symptoms but are having a test anyway (to check they haven't caught it from the +ve person) so they can reduce chance of spreading further. Are they the 'problem' that Matt Hancock and brads are referring to?
This morning's blame shifting towards people asking for tests has gone swimmingly I see. They may not be able to run a country, but they sure know how to create a narrative.
“Why are the number of tests being carried out decreasing at a time when you said you would be ramping them up to support your other measures of getting more people into the workplace, and all students back into the classroom?”
- divert - distract - blame the public -
“How many people are being tested?”
- release some other irrelevant and misleading figure instead -
Another vote for the Cardiff centre. We got an appt within 2 hours that evening, results in just under 24hrs
To be fair there are only 5 people living in Wales.
Glad to hear they have it right, local rules set dependent upon local circumstances does seem to work. Supports the argument for Scottish Independence, aside from not being able to afford it.
Given that the proportion of positive tests has risen sharply in recent days, shortage of tests cannot be due to a sudden influx of obviously non-symptomatic people demanding unnecessary tests.
And while a positivity rate of 1% might make it seem like a lot of people are getting unnecessarily tested, it's only by testing a lot of possibles (but not definites) that we have any chance of catching people soon enough to help.
To be fair there are only 5 people living in Wales.
That doesn’t explain why I had to drive my wife from Swansea to Builth to be tested, passing the local test centre (2 miles away).
It’s only 60 miles-ish, but a 3 hour round trip on slow roads, meaning we needed a pea-break! 🙄 (How’s that for limiting contagion? The Burger King next to the test centre must be the epicentre for secondary infection caused by people who’ve driven for hours through mid-Wales.)
We’re now waiting for the result - it’s been 26 hours....
retro83
How do you get one from Amazon? When I search i’m redirected to a page about how they’re partnering with the NHS, further details to follow.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?node=21103026031
Asking via the NHS website however just gives the same “computer says no result” as i got earlier
If anyone else needs it, it's currently available via gov website
https://coronavirus-home-testing.service.gov.uk
If anyone else needs it, it’s currently available via gov website
https://coronavirus-home-testing.service.gov.uk
There was a problem
There was a problem and we were unable to process your request for a home test. You will need to start again.
Try here: https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test
kelvin
Try here: https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test/blockquote >
Thanks Kelvin, I somehow pasted the wrong link. 👍🏻
For clarity what I was trying to get across is that the same process I tried about 25 times is now working!
Given that the proportion of positive tests has risen sharply in recent days, shortage of tests cannot be due to a sudden influx of obviously non-symptomatic people demanding unnecessary tests.
Or possible that they have some sort of screening/vetting/prioritising process so that those most likely to be positive are being given convenient testing arrangements and those presumed to be lower risk are not - but are then more vocal about the issue on social media.
Leeds PhD student managed to get online and book a local test last night - in the test centre at 8 am this morning! So despite an initial mega fail, it did get sorted locally.
Or possible that they have some sort of screening/vetting/prioritising process...
The minister said this morning on Radio4 that this is not the case.
those presumed to be lower risk are not – but are then more vocal about the issue on social media
You're just making stuff up to fit the government narrative. The number of tests being completed has decreased, just as demand for them has increased due to changes the government were entirely in control of... this is not the fault of the public.
DrJ
Free MemberFriend of mine in Copenhagen was feeling a bit poorly. She walked right in to a test centre, got swabbed, result half an hour later.
But they’re not “world beating” I suppose.
...and, as noted by Matt Hancock, they're not being wasted by dangerous losers going for tests when they don't need to.
Honestly, when you think the government's mismanagement of this couldn't get any worse, they surprise you again!
Between "get back to work you lazy oafs", "get your kids into school or we'll fine you", "stop getting tested if you don't need it" and "uh, Bolton is now locked down", this really is following a fairly obvious and depressingly funny path
Just to kick the ball back the other way, I developed a cough last Thursday. Test booked in Harrogate at the ride-up / walk-up centre for 10am on the following morning. Results back within 18 hours (negative).
So it's working in some areas. If I'm going to be picky I was slightly unimpressed that arriving people in cars were being dealt with while I waited in the pedestrian area, and trying to floss your tonsils without a mirror is surprisingly challenging.