Family queues for six hours as COVID clinics hit capacity with wait times and results delayed
A family of six, including four children from one of the COVID affected schools south of Brisbane, was forced to wait for six hours in a queue to get tested, as clinics across the southeast were pushed to the limit.
Logan
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A family with four children attending the school at the centre of the COVID outbreak yesterday had to spend six hours queuing for a virus test today.
LOGAN SERVICES, FACILITIES REMAIN OPEN
Logan resident Elijah Buol unsuccessfully tried yesterday to get tests for his wife and four children, who attend Parklands Christian College at Park Ridge, but ran out of time.
A pop-up fever clinic was set up at the school yesterday and more than 200 people were tested.
Mr Buol took his four children and his wife back to the school for testing at the centre just after 8am and were still waiting at 2.30pm.
The Australian of the Year Queensland Local Hero in 2018, said he was not overtly concerned about the health of his children who are in years 5, 3, 2 and prep at the Christian college.
“The college has assured us that there was no contact between the cleaner and the students,” he said.
“Of more concern is the timing for testing as my wife works in aged care and she had had to stop work before she gets the test results.”
Hundreds of people from Logan’s south also joined queues at Parklands Christian College this morning.
The school was shut yesterday after a cleaner came down with the virus, sparking a pandemic panic and a rush on testing centres.
A person helping out at the clinic, who could not be named, said administrative staff at the Park Ridge venue were scared about transmission after being forced to work closely to patients and handle samples.
“There was no rotation of staff so if someone went though the clinic with COVID, they could potentially transmit it to hundreds of people coming to test,” the helper said.
“Also there has not been any testing of staff manning the clinic.
“Some of this could have been done online but staff were literally handwriting out forms which means longer pathology waits.”
COVID testing clinics across the southeast were pushed to the limit with the number of tests today expected to double yesterday’s 979 conducted at public facilities.
A line up of more than 50 cars outside Logan Hospital’s carpark this morning was no deterrent to those who walked in and waited in a line starting as early as 6.30am.
More than 400 tests were conducted at the hospital yesterday with expectations of at least double that figure today.
At Springfield, a line up of dozens of cars outside the Orion Shopping Centre was still growing at midday.
QEII Hospital, the second largest on the southside, was forced to close its 5B ward, used to accommodate those waiting for test results, late yesterday.
This morning, a line of an estimated 100 people were waiting before the hospital’s centre opened at 8am.
A second test clinic will be opened at that hospital by tomorrow.
Even QML testing centres were at capacity with no room for parking at the Edens Landing clinic.
Claims it was faster to get results by being tested at a public hospital were rejected by the owner and director of COVID clinics at Shailer Park in Logan and Morayfield north of Brisbane.
Adjunct Associate Professor Dr Evan Jones said typically his patients were getting test results within 24 hours with patients at centres at Park Ridge being told to expect results in two to three days.
“Some public hospitals have their own testing facilities but it all just depends on volume,” he said.
“There should be no difference between public or private.”
Professor Jones said his two clinics were able to ramp up yesterday after the outbreak and the Shailer Park clinic was booked out today.
Test swabs are sent to Queensland Medical Laboratories or Sullivan & Nicolaides where the results are complied.
A second test is done if an initial positive result are is registered.
Negative results are usually given to the patient via a text message usually within 48 hours.