World-beating #TestandTrace @MattHancock @BorisJohnson? A thread.

Visiting family for the long holiday weekend, 1 of the smalls had a sniffle & headache so decided to get a test.

Tuesday: apply for test on govt website; they need name, contact details, ethnicity etc and...

place of work including whether you have been to work in last 2 weeks. Now this is really good info for #TestandTrace because once my test is linked to the info they can get straight on with tracing, yes? (Spoiler alert)

I did this for 4 people, inputting data multiple times.

So we get an appointment for Wednesday at Chesterfield Proact Stadium. Key to #TestandTrace is that we get a QRcode to scan on entry to the test site so that the test we do will link to our info, so tracing could start quickly.

Now we've been for a few tests already because #LongCovid. Previous tests were at Mansfield army run drive through test site where the army won't come near the car, drop the test in a half open window with a litter-picker.

There we self-tested before returning the test to a box at arms length. Crucially they scan the QRcode on entry, link that to the test they give you and you get results based on the info input into the govt system at step 1.

So what's the system at Chesterfield?

Wednesday: we turn up at the allotted time, no queue, hardly anyone being tested, weird, given number of tests being carried out daily and compared to our previous experiences. Crucially, our QRcode is NOT scanned. Four tests are placed on

the car, the healthcare assistant introduces herself and says she will be conducting the tests. No request for us to mask-up (we do), and she's only in a mask, no visor, talking to us at <1m distance. At times she actually leans inside the car. We're worried for her safety.

She asks us to lean towards car window open mouthed and she conducts the swab test. BTW theres no way she rubbed for the whole 5 seconds the test demands, more a 1,2,3,4,5 in your quick voice.

She then hands us a piece of paper relating to each test and tells us to register the

test online. As far as I can work out these are like home test kits which would be posted out. So, now the link is broken between the data I supplied on Tuesday and the test.

I go online and register each of the 4 tests. Input the same data again. But importantly @MattHancock..

the system for registering one of these test kits https://test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/register-kit  does not ask the same tracing questions about whether you have been to work in the last 2 weeks. The opportunity for using that data I entered on Tuesday has been lost. Tracing cannot start immediately.

The opportunity for mistakes at this point is now really high, I've entered data 8 times, I've had to link barcodes to 4 tests in the correct order so our test results aren't mixed up. I'm pretty good at data entry but this is not world-beating @IndependentSage @mikegalsworthy

Imagine if you have limited internet access, you manage to apply for a test and get to an out-of-town test site only to be told to go back online to register the test you already registered for.

I also suspect that now I've registered twice, we'll be in the system as 8 tests completed, not 4. Can you confirm or deny @MattHancock @BorisJohnson @Dines4Dales?

Now onto results time-frame. I've looked and the govt website no longer states how long it will take to get results

The NHS states it should be the next day, or at latest 72 hours. At the test site they said 48h but maybe longer.

Our results took 92 hours for 3 of the tests and 97 hours for the final test. That is 4 days. Four days of World-beating failure. @DrJoGrady @ucu

All the evidence points to the need for an effective #TestandTrace system if schools and universities are to return safely. Testing is failing and tracing is failing and the systems they use are clearly inadequate. This lies at your door @Conservatives @MattHancock @BorisJohnson

Took me a few days to compile this thread because #LongCovid. Please #StaySafe

@threadreaderapp please unroll