Inverness gets new UK government walk-through Covid testing centre that can see up to 288 people a day
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The UK government is set to launch a new walk through Covid testing centre in Inverness on Monday after piloting the facility today and tomorrow.
The site is located between Eden Court and Highland Council headquarters in the local authority’s car park and will be able to conduct up to 288 tests a day.
Set-up by Mitie, the outsourcing services company, on behalf of the UK government, the centre will “go live” at 2pm today, thereafter it will be open between 8am and 8pm.
UK government Minister for Scotland, David Duguid, visited before the launch and said he was impressed with what he saw and thanked staff for their hard work in setting it up in under a week.
The centre is part of the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities created in British history.
In Scotland, this comprises six drive-through sites, 11 walk-through sites, 21 mobile units, plus the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab which is working round the clock to process samples.
The facility has been organised to make it as simple as possible for those taking a self-administered test in one of the eight booths.
First, those arriving at the centre have to book an appointment through the NHS Inform website or by calling 0800 028 2816, they will then be given a code to access the site at the entrance.
They proceed to a tented waiting area and then they will be brought forward one at a time or in family bubbles to be issued with tests – in what is the red zone where the strictest highest social distancing and hygiene measures are in place.
Once inside members of the public will be shown to one of eight booths to take the swab test before being directed to the depository and then to the exit. Each booth is available for three rounds of testing per hour to allow for sanitising after use.
Mr Duguid said: “This is the first time I have visited a site before it is operational so it is very impressive to see how they are getting set-up to see all the practice and rehearsal and dry runs.
“It is a lot more encouraging to see rather than learning on the job with actual customers coming through.
“This facility we are in right now is one of 22 walk-through centres that are actually going to be delivered, this is the eleventh one so we are exactly halfway through that programme.
“These have come up thick and fast in a very short time frame, and that is very encouraging. It is very encouraging to see the First Minister is also committed to increasing the NHS testing capacity because up until now two thirds of the testing capacity has been provided by the UK government.
“There is lots of scope for improvement, the UK government along with all the devolved administrations have been working closely together, the chief medical officers have been working very closely together more than is perhaps sometimes portrayed but there is lots of room for improvement.”
Baroness Dido Harding, Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said: “The UK government’s new walk-through sites offer communities better access to coronavirus testing, so everyone with symptoms can get a test. This new site is part of our ongoing work to expand testing across the UK to deliver 500,000 tests a day by the end of October.”
