Coronavirus test centre for NHS staff opens in Grangemouth

NHS Forth Valley has significantly increased its capacity to test front line health and social care staff across the area to allow them to safely return to work as quickly as possible.

This has already led to the opening of a testing facility at Falkirk Community Hospital and now the new facility has begun operating at the Bowhouse Road centre.

These new testing centres have replaced the existing Covid-19 testing facility at the Lochview site in Larbert and increase staff testing capacity from 40 people per day to around 200 each day.

According to NHS Forth Valley, more than 660 health and social care staff or members of their household have been tested, with the vast majority testing negative, allowing front line staff to return to work.

NHS Forth Valley has also been testing colleagues working in local GP practices and pharmacies and, as a result of the increased capacity, will now be able to offer testing to staff working for the Scottish Ambulance Service and Police Scotland.

Staff working in NHS Forth Valley’s laboratories at Forth Valley Royal Hospital have also recently developed in-house testing facilities which enable Covid-19 samples to be tested within the hospital.

This has helped increase capacity and reduced the number of samples which have to be sent to laboratories in Glasgow for testing.

Cathie Cowan, NHS Forth Valley chief executive, said: “NHS Forth Valley was one of the first NHS Boards to put in place arrangements to test local health and social care staff in partnership with our three local councils.

“As a result of our increased testing and laboratory capacity we are now able to offer testing to a wider range of frontline staff, including colleagues working for local ambulance and police service.

“This will help ensure they can return to work as quickly as possible to support essential public services across the Forth Valley area.”

Rigorous infection control measures are in place in all facilities used by the Health Board, including the new staff testing facilities.

Any member of staff who requires to be tested is given specific information on the testing facility they are to attend and appointment times are staggered to avoid any issues around parking or congestion.

Anyone attending the drive through facilities travel in their own private vehicle, which the do not leave at any time as they are only required to roll down the driver’s seat window to enable a member of staff to collect a throat swab sample.