More fire stations to act as Covid testing centres after success of trial involving Thurso
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A total of 21 Covid testing sites located at fire stations across the NHS Highland area are set to be launched following a successful pilot scheme at Thurso and Lochgilphead.
The partnership between the health board and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) means that the Highlands will get 14 small-scale centres, with Thurso already up and running and the rest operational by mid-March.
There will be no further test sites in Caithness but neighbouring Sutherland will have three sites at Tongue, Dornoch, and Lairg, while Wester Ross will be served by Ullapool, Lochcarron and Gairloch; Skye will have two at Broadford and Portree; Baednoch and Strathspey will get one at Grantown and one at Kingussie.
There will also be a fire station test site at Fort Augustus, while Lochaber will be served by centres at Fort William and Acharacle.
The remaining seven are all in Argyll & Bute – Lochgilphead, which is already operational; Dunoon, Campbeltown, Rothesay, Tarbert (Loch Fyne), Cove (Loch Long) and Arrochar.
People within driving or walking distance of these locations who have Covid symptoms can book a test by calling NHS Highland on 01463 706015 – either an on-site test or tests that can be taken away and returned via priority post box will be offered.
If people drive to the site they can take the test themselves on-site and leave it for collection by a courier that day, alternatively people can collect a test kit for someone else and bring it back for courier collection.
Some sites will operate a pick-up only model where tests can be returned the same day using a nearby priority post box.
At the Covid briefing on Monday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I want to briefly highlight a programme which will make testing more easily available in the NHS Highland health board area, which in terms of landmass is the largest of our health board regions.
“In recent weeks NHS Highland has been piloting a programme at Thurso and Lochgilphead fire stations and those communities have been used as bases where people can get tested.
“And that saves local residents from either having to wait for a home testing kit to arrive or having to wait until there's a mobile testing centre in their area, or alternatively from having to drive quite a distance to a permanent testing centre.
“So, due to the success of these initial pilots, the decision has been taken now to expand that service and in the coming weeks a further 17 sites will open in rural locations across the NHS Highland area – that means a total of 21 rural fire stations will be used as testing centres.
“Of course these sites will be used in tandem with the larger testing centres for bigger communities across the Highlands such as the regional drive-through site in Inverness, the walk through sites in Wick, Inverness and Oban, and mobile testing units in more populous areas or areas which face a particular outbreak.
“These larger sites can carry out several hundred tests a day and are hugely important but they are often not needed or are not accessible enough for smaller communities, for example the two fire stations in Lochgilphead and Thurso averaged less than 10 tests a day each when they were piloting the new service.
“So in these circumstances the fire station tasting centres are a really valuable but also proportionate way of making testing more easily available and accessible to our rural populations.
“They don't deliver in large volumes but they really help in ensuring that people can get easier access to testing when they need it.”
Assistant Chief Officer Stuart Stevens, director of service delivery for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We are pleased that the success of the initial trial in Thurso and Lochgilphead now means that many more fire stations can assist rural communities to access Covid tests closer to home.
"Our staff have shown a real commitment to providing this service, whilst maintaining a capability to respond to emergencies, and I want to personally thank them for their ongoing efforts."
