advertisement


NHS Covid testing - has anyone managed to book one?

we all just self isolated as a precaution to prevent further spread. No point consuming scarce resources unnecessarily!

Common sense, I can't see this catching on.

Imagine how many of the >20,000 flu deaths in 2000 could have been prevented, by such.

But no, we want a scientific test (only 70% accurate) and a scientific vaccine (may only be 40/50 % effective).

I said at the beginning of this outbreak that optimising your immune system was the best way to avoid or minimise the Covid risk.
Our immune system is one of the things that has allowed us to become the dominant species on this planet.
Maybe the NHS/Gov. should test everyone to ensure our Vit C/D + zinc levels are optimal.

I've been shot down on here before in saying such, so the usual suspect who assume I'm advocating supplements over a healthy diet need not reply.

It all boils down to 'common sense'.
 
Common sense, I can't see this catching on.

Imagine how many of the >20,000 flu deaths in 2000 could have been prevented, by such.

But no, we want a scientific test (only 70% accurate) and a scientific vaccine (may only be 40/50 % effective).

I said at the beginning of this outbreak that optimising your immune system was the best way to avoid or minimise the Covid risk.
Our immune system is one of the things that has allowed us to become the dominant species on this planet.
Maybe the NHS/Gov. should test everyone to ensure our Vit C/D + zinc levels are optimal.

I've been shot down on here before in saying such, so the usual suspect who assume I'm advocating supplements over a healthy diet need not reply.

It all boils down to 'common sense'.
Bollocks.
 
Boris just said that we're delivering more tests than Germany, Spain and France (he didn't mention Italy.) Is that true? It's always hard to tell!

And he said we've seen a surge in demand for tests. Maybe the whole problem is that there's an early cold bug doing the rounds in the UK which no-one planned for, and indeed no-one could have planned for. In other words, this is an unfortunate event due to unforeseen circumstances, and not a sign of something structurally wrong with T and T.
If the possibility of an early cold coinciding with return to schools isn’t built into the system then I don’t know what to say, except that we’re in bigger trouble than I thought.

But it’s now clear that the current dysfunction is a continuation of problems that were already being experienced in the summer lull. Everything points to problem being internal and systemic rather than the result of some freak external occurrence.

The overriding problem, as you’ve pointed out elsewhere, is that the total lack of transparency and accountability - unthinkable were all this still in the hands of public institutions - means that there’s very little chance of fixing whatever the issues are. Unless that happens to coincide with the business priorities of Deloitte and the political priorities of a small clique of corrupt psychopaths.
 
Boris just said that we're delivering more tests than Germany, Spain and France (he didn't mention Italy.) Is that true? It's always hard to tell!

And he said we've seen a surge in demand for tests. Maybe the whole problem is that there's an early cold bug doing the rounds in the UK which no-one planned for, and indeed no-one could have planned for. In other words, this is an unfortunate event due to unforeseen circumstances, and not a sign of something structurally wrong with T and T.
What you have to analyse carefully is the language used.
When a lying Tory bastard says tests delivered you assume it means tests carried out.
It does not.
I reported early in the pandemic of a family member who was responsible for delivering home tests getting the same pack three times to deliver to the same people.
That would be registered as three tests delivered.
Then there are the tests not returned, or not administered properly. They are not included in Tory figures.
Don’t forget the admission that nasal swabs and throat swabs were registered as 2 tests as well.
I find your constant, naive acceptance of the rubbish the govt put out deeply saddening.
I find your repeating of it on here deeply annoying.
As forJohnson’s latest lies according to today’s Times Germany are performing 1 million tests a week, with capacity for 1.4 million. France are doing 1 million a week too but the system needs booking a week ahead and drive ins report hours waiting to be tested. Spain carried out 631238 tests between 4-10 Sept. Mostly done in health centres. Labs are being overwhelmed with reports of delays of a fortnight to get results.
Most of the time your cut and paste trolling gets the single word response it deserves.
Consider yourself honoured that I have taken the time to respond to your nonsense on this occasion.
 
If the possibility of an early cold coinciding with return to schools isn’t built into the system then I don’t know what to say, except that we’re in bigger trouble than I thought.

But it’s now clear that the current dysfunction is a continuation of problems that were already being experienced in the summer lull. Everything points to problem being internal and systemic rather than the result of some freak external occurrence.

The overriding problem, as you’ve pointed out elsewhere, is that the total lack of transparency and accountability - unthinkable were all this still in the hands of public institutions - means that there’s very little chance of fixing whatever the issues are. Unless that happens to coincide with the business priorities of Deloitte and the political priorities of a small clique of corrupt psychopaths.

Yes you're probably right.

I have had two COVID tests, one on July 3 the other on Aug 20.

The July one worked like a dream -- results arrived quickly, it was quick to get the test done.

The Aug one did NOT work like a dream. It was hard to register for a test -- the software didn't work, in the end the helpline had to do it for me. No results after four days, so I telephoned. They said they would report it to some sort of problems team, I put the phone down and withing 30 seconds, I got the result. As if the act of phoning had prompted someone to remember to press the "send" button.

So maybe, probably, things were going wrong as early as the third week in August.
 
Yes you're probably right.

I have had two COVID tests, one on July 3 the other on Aug 20.

The July one worked like a dream -- results arrived quickly, it was quick to get the test done.

The Aug one did NOT work like a dream. It was hard to register for a test -- the software didn't work, in the end the helpline had to do it for me. No results after four days, so I telephoned. They said they would report it to some sort of problems team, I put the phone down and withing 30 seconds, I got the result. As if the act of phoning had prompted someone to remember to press the "send" button.

So maybe, probably, things were going wrong as early as the third week in August.
That’s what the data seems to suggest, at least on this reading:

https://twitter.com/dr_d_robertson/status/1305100187652837376?s=21

It contradicts the government line on this: that the problem is with student staff going back to university, and with over-anxious parents filling their boots with lovely free tests.
 
But it’s now clear that the current dysfunction is a continuation of problems that were already being experienced in the summer lull. Everything points to problem being internal and systemic rather than the result of some freak external occurrence.

What I think everything points to is that the system wasn't ready to provide rapid testing and rapid test results on demand from mid August. The scale isn't there, it's a size problem.

Could it have been bigger quicker? I don't know.

The communications from the Government leaves a lot to be desired -- it all looks like chaotic firefighting because we were all lead to expect rapid testing on demand. That could have been avoided, a selective test strategy could have been formulated ahead of time and the public prepared for its introduction.
 
I wonder if the problems with testing are also symptomatic of the UK funnelling so much public sector work to the same small number of outsourcing giants (Serco, Capita, G4S etc) who seem to be permanently on the verge of going bust.
 
What I think everything points to is that the system wasn't ready to provide rapid testing and rapid test results on demand from mid August. The scale isn't there, it's a size problem.

Could it have been bigger quicker? I don't know.

The communications from the Government leaves a lot to be desired -- it all looks like chaotic firefighting because we were all lead to expect rapid testing on demand. That could have been avoided, a selective test strategy could have been formulated ahead of time and the public prepared for its introduction.
If they'd admitted testing wasn't up to the job they couldn't have opened the schools. They'd made big promises to reassure heads. Couldn't have launched the back to the office campaign (God knows what they'd promised the landlords). Would have had to call off Eat Out to Help Out, which would have led to demands to extend furlough (and they'd promised the press there'd be no more of that left wing nonsense). In short they prioritised narrow political interests and PR over both lives and long term economic rationality, as they have from the beginning - and in a wildly incompetent manner: this was always going to blow up in their (our) faces, they just assumed they'd be able to style it out. Probably will too. One way or another I'm sure they will all find themselves, personally, massively enriched.

But this is already to concede that this is simply a size problem, that they wouldn't have had more success had they not attempted to set up a private, secretive system from scratch, run by their inexperienced friends, freezing out existing capacity and expertise in the public sector (of which the UK has more than its fair share). Which I have some trouble doing, frankly.
 
If they'd admitted testing wasn't up to the job they couldn't have opened the schools.

Just take this one to start with.

The choice is between two evils. Either you open high schools and universities only when you have a rapid test on demand facility (possibly a long way away, maybe never); or you open schools with a targeted, limited test and trace strategy, the sort of thing they're talking about now. Both routes have very undesirable consequences, I'm sure I don't need to spell them out. They decided to go for the second of these choices.

They'd made big promises to reassure heads.

Hopefully heads will be reassured about the safety and the viability of their schools by whatever is proposed in the strategy about to be unveiled.
 
^^^ There is a sub-sect of the Eton Elite that delights in 'winging it'. They hold centre stage now.
 


advertisement


Back
Top