The government has been warned its Covid-19 testing has descended into “an absolute shambles” that is leaving people facing 700-mile round trips and forcing staff and pupils to miss school.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said that one of her constituents in Ashton-under-Lyne who was trying to book a test was told there was one available in Aberdeen.
There have been widespread reports of teachers and pupils being unable to get Covid-19 tests anywhere near their homes.
Problems: Teachers are missing lessons because of a lack of tests
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Hancock: Schools should not apply for whole year groups to get tests
Tes reported on Monday that heads were warning that the problem would undermine the efforts to keep schools open.
Ms Rayner said: “The testing system has collapsed. A family in my constituency told to go to Aberdeen for a test, 700-mile round trip.
Testing system has collapsed. A family in my constituency told to go to Aberdeen for a test, 700 mile round trip ? No home tests available so people forced to miss work/school. All in an area that has had additional restrictions throughout summer. Absolute shambles! @MattHancock
- ? Angela Rayner ? (@AngelaRayner) September 8, 2020
“No home tests available so people forced to miss work and school. All in an area that has had additional restrictions throughout summer. Absolute shambles.”
Labour MP David Lammy said that he had received a complaint that a school pupil in Tottenham had been told that there was a test available in Inverness.
A constituent has just got in touch upset that the nearest drive-through COVID test a pupil in Tottenham has been offered is in Inverness. The result is they are being kept home from school. This is bonkers. The government needs to quickly explain and fix its approach to testing.
- David Lammy (@DavidLammy) September 7, 2020
He said: “The result is they are being kept home from school. This is bonkers. The government needs to quickly explain and fix its approach to testing.”
The comments come as health secretary Matt Hancock issued a plea to people to stop inappropriate requests for testing.
However, there are a growing number of reports of school teachers feeling unwell but being unable to access a test.
One teacher near Birmingham said that she and her son were missing school because they were unable to get a home test. The nearest drive-in centres were Oldham in Greater Manchester or Romford in Essex.
Teachers have also been voicing their frustration about the problem on Twitter.
Dave McPartlin, headteacher of Flakefleet Primary said: “Disadvantaged families being unfairly affected by no Covid home tests and fact nearest centre hours drive away, not everyone has a car. Every day of no tests is a day lost at school or day that staff are unable to return work. Time for Plan C for schools.”
He also warned that after just over a week back at school he had already used to two of the 10 home testing kits provided by the government.
Commenting on her local test centre Jo Facer, the principal of Ark John Keats in Enfield, said: “You have to register online or you can’t get a test; online registration is currently broken. If we want schools to be open, we need more than ten tests for the year.
“This is not a joke: key workers with symptoms were physically there and told they could not be given a test. It’s not good enough.”
The local test centre to our school has no queues, hurray!
Also, you have to register online or you can’t get a test; online registration is currently broken.
If we want schools to be open, we need more than ten tests for the year.
- Jo Facer (@jo_facer) September 8, 2020
Health secretary Matt Hancock was asked on Sky News today whether the testing system was failing.
He said: “I completely reject that accusation. In fact, quite the contrary. Firstly, we have the biggest testing system per head of population of all the major countries in Europe and we built it essentially from scratch.
“Right now, we have the highest capacity for testing that we’ve ever had - increased compared to last week.
“And that testing means that we can find these cases, and therefore help keep the virus under control with the contact tracing system as well.
“However, in the last couple of weeks, we have seen an increase in demand, including an increase in demand for people who are not eligible for tests, and people who don’t have symptoms.”
