New community coronavirus testing centre to open in Polmont for those without symptoms

It will be based in Polmont Sports Centre and offer rapid testing to those who don’t have any Covid-19 symptoms and those who live and work in Polmont, Grangemouth and the surrounding areas.

Falkirk Community Trust (FCT), which manages the premises, confirmed the testing centre will open “over the next few weeks”.

The community testing initiative is part of a partnership involving the Scottish Government, NHS Forth Valley, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire and Stirling councils, local health and social care partnerships and military planners.

This includes a team of 23 members of the armed forces who will support the planning and implementation of new asymptomatic test sites across Forth Valley.

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A mobile testing centre will also visit various locations in Stirling and Clackmannanshire on a rotational basis.

The centres will provide lateral flow testing, with results available within 45 minutes. If the result is positive, this will be followed up with a confirmatory PCR test.

The move is part of national plans to expand community testing across Scotland over the next few months.

A range of national and local support is available to anyone who needs to self-isolate due to a positive result, including financial support and food packages.

Further information on the start dates, opening times and booking process will be issued by local councils in the next few weeks when the new facilities become operational.

More details on the support available can be found on NHS Inform and Falkirk Council’s website.

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