New Covid-19 testing pilot, which gets results in 30 minutes, set to start in Redcar

The Community testing pilot will begin in Grangetown to help protect people most at risk.

The partnership between Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, Grangetown United Community Hub and the Department of Health and Social Care will use lateral flow tests to work towards returning life to as normal as possible.

Testing of asymptomatic people will begin from 12pm on Monday (December 14).

The pilot of lateral flow tests will produce results in around 30 minutes.

The pilot aims to reduce the spread of Covid-19 by identifying residents who are positive but who do not display any symptoms.

About one in three people who have coronavirus have no symptoms and will be spreading it without realising.

Testing will be promoted by FROG – Future Regeneration of Grangetown – and supported by Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council staff who will carry out the tests on the following days:

Monday, December 14 – 12pm-6pm

Tuesday, December 15 – 9am-6pm

Wednesday, December 16 – 9am-6pm

Thursday, December 17 – 9am-6pm

Friday, December 18 – 9am-6pm.

People do not need to book and all members of the community aged 18 years and over are welcome to test at the Hub.

The testing will be supported by trained volunteers and the lateral flow tests will allow residents to test themselves before the results are analysed on-site. The results are usually available within 30 minutes.

One person who gets tested can win a £100 voucher every day during the programme.

Discretionary financial support may be available if someone who does not qualify for the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme tests positive and would be in financial hardship if required to self-isolate.

If you have any of the following coronavirus symptoms, you should not come to the Grangetown United Community Hub for a test:   

A new, continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss of, or change, in your sense of smell or taste.

If you have any of the symptoms listed above, you should follow the guidance online on how to book a test – www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test – or call 119. Lines are open 7am to 11pm. You will also need to need to stay at home and self-isolate.

The pilot in Grangetown United Community Hub is being delivered in partnership with Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and NHS Test and Trace and will offer self-administered tests.

FROG Community Enterprise Manager Lynn Pallister said: “The is a fantastic opportunity for everyone in the community to help stop the spread of the virus in Grangetown.

“People who have the virus but who do not have any of the symptoms can pass it on to others and may be unknowingly putting their loved ones at risk.

“Please get yourself tested so we can protect each other and particularly people who are most vulnerable. We have a great community spirit where we live, so let’s do this for Grangetown.”

Cllr Steve Kay, Cabinet member for Health, Housing and Welfare, said: “Our aim here is to reduce the spread of Covid-19 by identifying residents who are positive, but not displaying any symptoms. If these people self-isolate, it will protect their loved ones – and particularly those who are vulnerable – and enable life to return to normal as quickly as possible.

“We have fantastic teams at FROG and Grangetown United Community Hub who are at the heart of our community to lead on testing and bring residents together to help protect themselves and others.”

Health Minister Lord Bethell said: “We’ve already come so far since first setting up a national testing programme at an unprecedented pace to help counter Covid-19, but we continue to strive to go further, faster.

“Innovations such as lateral flow tests hold the key to the next phase of our ambition to see mass, rapid testing available to people across the country.

“I’m delighted Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and Grangetown United Community Hub are working with us to pilot the latest technology in Redcar, and I look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour, both in helping target the virus locally, and helping find ways to roll this technology out further soon.”

Baroness Dido Harding, Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said: “NHS Test and Trace continues to play a leading role in the fight against Covid-19 with over 43 million tests processed so far.

“The work of Redcar Council and Grangetown United Community Hub in Redcar will be essential in helping us explore the benefits of new technology in Lateral Flow Tests.

“This pilot is one of many which will lay the foundations for the next phase of NHS Test and Trace – mass testing - which will allow us to test even more people, even more quickly.”

If you’re asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace and you’re on a low income, unable to work from home and will lose income as a result, you may be entitled to a payment of £500 from your local authority under the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme. To apply, please visit: www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/coronavirus/Pages/Test-and-Trace-Support-Scheme.aspx