Health chiefs call for urgent action as residents travel miles for coronavirus tests

Cheshire and Merseyside directors of public health are alarmed that access to testing in the area is limited and have joined forces to press for urgent action.

Some residents are being asked to travel to other parts of the country to get a Covid-19 test and not all symptomatic residents are able to access a test.

Directors of public health say that this poses a significant threat to the health and wellbeing of the residents of Cheshire and Merseyside.

A national decision at the weekend also meant that local testing sites, like one at Little Roodee car park Chester has changed to appointment-only and will no longer offer tests without pre-booking.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of Covid-19 cases across Cheshire and Merseyside. Cases are increasing at such a rapid pace that Merseyside has now been identified as an area of concern on the national government watch list.

Local authority teams and partners are working hard to implement effective plans but directors of public health are deeply concerned they do not have the essential tools to tackle an escalating pandemic.

Residents are being sent miles across the country to get coronavirus tests

Ian Ashworth, chairman of Cheshire and Merseyside Directors of Public Health Board and director of Public Health for Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “Directors of public health understand that there is a national issue with laboratory capacity and efforts are being made to rectify this situation but we would ask that immediate action is taken.

“We will work closely with the Cheshire and Merseyside Testing group to make the most of the testing capacity available to our residents. Additional testing capacity is essential to help prevent further spread of the virus in Cheshire and Merseyside but also the north west. Currently the north west region has 25 per cent of the Covid-19 national cases and yet has access to only 15 per cent of the national testing capacity.”

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Directors of Public Health are also concerned about resources to effectively lead locally supported contact tracing. Local areas are being asked to consider taking on the follow-up of cases that the national test and trace system cannot reach.

Mr Ashworth said: “Without any further resources, we will find it incredibly difficult to deal with the additional cases, let alone pursue the close contacts of those cases.

"Directors of public health and teams are already at full capacity. We would like to request that the appropriate resources are given to local authorities to ensure we have the capacity to deal with the cases that the national system cannot reach and close contacts.”

Public health teams and partners have been working incredibly hard to keep residents safe and now require the testing capacity and funding for locally supported contact tracing to be available so they can continue to protect communities.

While hospital admissions are currently low, evidence from other countries like France and Spain shows that as cases rise so do hospital admissions and deaths. It is important to protect the most vulnerable and the economy, avoiding nationally imposed restrictions.

The directors of public health have issued their joint statement publicly through Champs Public Health Collaborative, which works across the nine local authorities in Cheshire and Merseyside.

The directors of public health are also encouraging all residents to play their part and unite together against Covid-19. This is a critical moment in the fight to halt the spread of the virus in Cheshire and Merseyside.

Residents are reminded to wash their hands, avoid crowds, keep their distance, use face coverings, stay at home if you have symptoms get tested. Anyone with symptoms should call 119 to ask for a test or visit nhs.uk/coronavirus. Call 111 if your condition deteriorates.