Greens reveal coronavirus testing postcode lottery
3 August 2020
- Data shows Cardiff test results take on average up to 34 hours longer than Milton Keynes
- Freedom of Information request shows worrying disparity across country, and gaps in the Department for Health’s information
- Jenny Jones: “Our testing system should not be a complete postcode lottery”
People taking coronavirus tests face a worrying postcode lottery in the time it takes to get results, with some parts of the country waiting on average up to 34 hours longer than others, the Green Party can reveal.
Data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request has revealed that the longest delay was in Cardiff where people had to wait an average of 45 hours. [1]
The second longest delay was in Wembley, London, where people waited an average of 33 hours, and Lincoln had the third longest wait with 24 hours.
Meanwhile, those with the shortest wait were Milton Keynes, Glasgow and Llandudno with average times of 11, 12 and 13 hours respectively.
The data shows four of the testing sites, including the Nightingale Excel Walk In, are taking on average longer than the target set by Boris Johnson of 24 hours. [2]
Green Party peer Jenny Jones said:
“Our testing system should not be a complete postcode lottery with over a full day’s difference in waiting time for results between some regional testing centers.
“We need Johnson to meet his commitment for all tests to be returned well under 24 hours, and we must level up all testing sites to the highest possible standards of efficiency.”
The FOI request also revealed that the Department of Health had no records on how many results of tests are unsuccessfully returned to those who took the tests.
Wales Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter said:
“At a time when lockdown measures have been significantly relaxed across Wales, the news that the average time taken to receive Covid- 19 test results in Cardiff is forty five hours is a deeply worrying failure on the part of Public Health Wales.
“This unacceptable delay is endangering public health and reducing the efficiency of any attempts at a meaningful Test, Track and Isolate strategy.”
Caroline Russell, Green Party London Assembly member, said:
“As we are being encouraged back to city centres and to reopen more parts of the economy, it’s worrying to hear there are such disparities in the time taken to return test results.
“Every hour counts as we try to stay on top of the virus and contact the people who have been in touch with confirmed cases so they can isolate to keep others safe.
“It’s not fair to affected communities if the time taken to get test results is letting down the track and trace system.”
ENDS
Notes
1
The data provided was for the period 6 July 2020 to 12 July 2020 inclusive. It refers to the median hours from the time of test to the time of result communicated.
|
By RTS Site |
||
|
ACF Code |
Site Name |
Median Hours |
|
DFW |
RTS – Cardiff City Football Club |
45.13 |
|
WEM |
RTS – Wembley |
33.09 |
|
LNC |
RTS – Lincoln |
24.63 |
|
NGE |
RTS – Nightingale Excel Walk-in |
24.09 |
|
LEE |
RTS – Leeds |
23.31 |
|
LEI |
RTS – Leicester |
22.66 |
|
MDE |
RTS – Birmingham Smethwick |
22.24 |
|
STK |
RTS – Stoke |
22.13 |
|
NTM |
RTS – Nottingham |
22.09 |
|
HUL |
RTS – Hull |
22.03 |
|
DEE |
RTS – Deeside |
21.93 |
|
BRM |
RTS – Birmingham Edgbaston |
21.57 |
|
YOR |
RTS – York |
21.52 |
|
STA |
RTS – Stafford |
21.50 |
|
BRA |
RTS – Bradford |
21.36 |
|
TEL |
RTS – Telford |
21.26 |
|
IOW |
RTS – Isle of Wight |
21.08 |
|
DNE |
RTS – Doncaster Airport, Sheffield |
20.97 |
|
SHF |
RTS – Sheffield |
20.94 |
|
NOT |
RTS – Nottingham Motorpoint |
20.91 |
|
WRE |
RTS – Worcester |
20.76 |
|
COV |
RTS – Coventry |
20.75 |
|
PRE |
RTS – Preston College |
20.43 |
|
BLA |
RTS – Blackburn |
19.64 |
|
RMA |
RTS – Ramsgate |
19.32 |
|
PYE |
RTS – Plymouth |
19.27 |
|
SAL |
RTS – Salisbury |
19.12 |
|
CPR |
RTS – Bournemouth |
19.09 |
|
DCR |
RTS – Derry City Rugby Club, Londonderry |
18.98 |
|
GLO |
RTS – Gloucester |
18.97 |
|
BLE |
RTS – Belfast Odyssey Arena |
18.95 |
|
ENN |
RTS – Enniskillen |
18.84 |
|
WOB |
RTS – Abercynon |
18.83 |
|
EXE |
RTS – Exeter |
18.81 |
|
TAU |
RTS – Taunton |
18.66 |
|
NEW |
RTS – Newbury |
18.63 |
|
TIP |
RTS – Portsmouth |
18.59 |
|
POR |
RTS – Portadown |
18.56 |
|
EBV |
RTS – Ebbw Vale |
18.34 |
|
BRE |
RTS – Bristol Airport |
18.24 |
|
SWI |
RTS – Swindon |
17.94 |
|
HYE |
RTS – Haydock Race Course |
17.90 |
|
GWE |
RTS – Gatwick Airport |
17.22 |
|
ABE |
RTS – Aberdeen Airport |
17.20 |
|
MCM |
RTS – Manchester Airport |
17.05 |
|
IVE |
RTS – Inverness |
16.92 |
|
HEA |
RTS – Heathrow |
16.82 |
|
SLO |
RTS – Slough |
16.74 |
|
LIV |
RTS – Liverpool Airport |
16.41 |
|
LVE |
RTS – Edmonton Lee Valley |
16.33 |
|
MES |
RTS – Manchester Etihad Stadium |
16.27 |
|
PRS |
RTS – Prestwick |
16.22 |
|
AFE |
RTS – Ashford |
16.12 |
|
GUD |
RTS – Guildford |
16.10 |
|
PBO |
RTS – Peterborough |
15.99 |
|
PFK |
RTS – Penrith |
15.98 |
|
PER |
RTS – Perth |
15.88 |
|
CAM |
RTS – Cambridge |
15.87 |
|
EBB |
RTS – Ebbsfleet |
15.79 |
|
NWE |
RTS – Newcastle Great Park & Ride |
15.74 |
|
CHE |
RTS – Chessington |
15.70 |
|
NRW |
RTS – Norwich |
15.48 |
|
SAE |
RTS – Stansted Airport |
15.33 |
|
OXP |
RTS – Oxford Parkway |
15.26 |
|
TWE |
RTS – Twickenham Stadium |
15.14 |
|
BGE |
RTS – Brighton |
15.06 |
|
GRE |
RTS – Greenwich |
14.66 |
|
IWE |
RTS – Ipswich |
14.54 |
|
EDE |
RTS – Edinburgh Airport |
14.22 |
|
TPR |
RTS – Oxford |
14.09 |
|
WEL |
RTS – Welwyn Garden City |
14.07 |
|
DWR |
RTS – Llandudno Coach Park |
13.58 |
|
GLM |
RTS – Glasgow Airport |
12.59 |
|
MKE |
RTS – Milton Keynes |
11.31 |
2