hints to streamline covid testing prepare now for when you need it.

Discussion in 'COVID-19' started by justine77, 6th May, 2020.

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  1. justine77

    justine77 Well-Known Member

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    if your child or children ever have a sniffle fever cough etc you might be asked by their childcare or school to get the entire family tested. this might happen repetitively with normal childrens illness and symptoms in winter or any time

    testing isnt made easy so i'd really advise you to prepare now with being clear about
    choices of places to go to and supplies you need food drink nappies phone charger
    the hotline doesnt give a full list only mostly big hospitals where you might be more at risk of catching the virus indoors at a hospital than at a drive through place
    if online you find drive through places then
    like other places the waits can be long hours
    so be prepared with food water nappies potties toilet paper wipes toys books phone charger whatever you need to be with your kids waiting inyour car or elsewhere for testing
    the childcare/school / work have your email and ph no so it would help if they simply tell you asap that they want you to be tested so you can prepared yourself and not wait till you front up there and suddenly say with no notice or preparationsorry we cant care for your kids go test your entire family now. so i'd advise everyone to prepare now for where you will go and what you will need food drink etc for a few hour wait.


    testing places might not have a queue system so if child needs food drink or toilet you might lose your place and have to start waiting all over again for another few hours even if you arrived first early that day and have a bunch of young kids with you

    there is no easy list of all places to carry around with you while caring for a bunch of kids to see where is best
    there is no streamlining for is you have a bunch of very young babies children with you or if you have reasons why you are more vulnerable and shouldnt be at a big hospital where you might catch it while simply going for a test

    i feel that drs supermarkets news a current affair pharmacies should be warning us giving us papers with details to prepare now in the event we need testing of where we will go and having supplies with us for ourselves or kids so we arent caught offguard and shocked and waiting hours for tests with no food drink etc and young kids

    theres no easy online email to send info we learn for the gov to improve these detaills.

    testing is the foundation of stopping the spread with wanting to open up the economy and saving lives but theres alot of difficulties for those who need to get tested and if you have young kids with you even hardera to try to navigate websites for info and organise choices and wait hours.

    on the hotline they didnt even tell me about drive by testing but on the website it is there but also might be hard to navigate with so much info it really needs to be made much easier and people need to prepare ahead of time if they want it easier when it actually happens

    i hope we wont need this year much repeptitive testing with a bunch of kids and the normal colds fever cough flu vomiting athma/ wheezing that could occur.

    the testing place after hours of waiting kept insisting that they wont test us as we dont fit the criteria but i knew childcare wouldnt accept my kids until we were tested so i had to keep insisting while they kept refusing. very stressful. all of these needs much more attention preparation to streamline testing to prevent deaths and the spread and open the economy. this really needs much more attention and ease for australians and families

    maybe hints others learnt can be shared
     
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  2. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    My wife was sent for testing a few weeks ago, but not for the normal symptoms. There was no queue, in fact nobody else there. She was rejected for the test almost immediately, as she didn't fit the profile required at that stage.

    As it turns out, the symptoms may have been due to medication she takes for another condition, a drug which has recently become famous.
     
  3. Hodor

    Hodor Well-Known Member

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    How about keeping the child at home if they have any symptoms? Yes it can be a pain, however it keeps everyone safe and even if it isn't COVID it minimises the chances of exposing your youngster to COVID while they have another illness increasing the chances of complications.

    Why you would want to put a young child through the swab process is beyond me, it isn't a pleasant experience.

    This is a source of great frustration to medical staff, 3rd parties demanding unneeded testing.
     
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  4. Westminster

    Westminster Tigress at Tiger Developments Business Member

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    In Western Australia you can also get tested at a private pathology lab if you have a referral from a GP. You can have a telehealth (online consult) with a GP then take the referral to a private pathology and they will do the test.
     
  5. justine77

    justine77 Well-Known Member

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    yes this bit of info can save people and families hours of risk and ordeal
    why its not publicised to avoid the ordeals people are going through i just dont know.

    this is what i've learnt


    If u need covid testing the easiest way in Australia seems to b
    1 Get a Tele consult apointment by phone with gp. Find one that’s easy to get one fast and convenient
    2 Then they will email u the pathology slip
    3 Then phone the pathology and make an appointment . U need an appointment these days for pathology
    4 then get tested quickly locally easily with no wait time at pathology
    5 take food water snacks masks nappies books etc if u think there might b a wait time


    Otherwise without this info u can really suffer with
    hours of long wait times , with hungry thirsty children , in big indoor hospitals , where u r more likely to catch the virus , while simply seeking a test
    The hotline is not very helpful because
    it only tells u about big indoor places , mostly big hospitals with a few hours wait time which is hard with a bunch of young kids especially if u t caught off guard aBd don’t realise to take supplies for a few hours wait food drinks books masks nappies et.
    The hotline or schools ‘/childcare /work , don’t remind u to Take supplies for a few hours of wait but it would help so much if they did alert families
    Online on government health sites there r more choices given
    also of drive thru testing
    but again a few hours wait and no toilets drink food available at drive thru places
    so take supplies for a few hour wait and preferably
    take another adult because if a child needs toilet during the few hours of wait then u will lose ur place and need to start the few hour wait again
    really they need to fix this and make a numbered system and have some sort of toilets so that if someone needs toilet in a few hour wait thee is a way to go to the toilet or take a child without having to restart the few hour wait time.
    Schools work childcare can ask for tests repetitively these days every time any child has any symptom cough fever cold gastro wheezing headache
    Hopefully they give u notice to get ready and don’t just shock u one day when u show up telling u to test ur whole family without giving u any notice to organise and be prepared. it is really hard to be in shock being turned away from work or school or childcare with no common courtesy phonecall or email the day before ,
    and then while in shock to try to navigate phonecalls and wibsites and hotlines to try to find places to get tested
    and show up to these places for a few hour wait with no food water masks nappies books to entertain kids for a few hours wait because we werent prepared
    Hopefully this info can help others have a smoother testing experience
    If u find other hints pls share them

    if childcare /school/ work asks for your entire family to get tested, or at least all the children that attend that school or childcare, after one member has any of many symptoms they dont just ask the one member they might ask all the children attending that childcare or school or all your family to get tested before returning. families should be prepared with this knowledge.
    if families then go to a testing place and wait a few hours . the testing place might refuse to test them saying you dont fit the criterea. people can be caught in huge stress needing to insist till the testing is done because school childcare work wont allow them back till the testing is done
    , or people can use th eg tele consult and the pathology slip and pathology testing for a no wait easier experience

    even when work, school, childcare all reopens, adults and children can be home for a few days days if asked to be testing as it takes time till testing is done and till results come back negative . it can take 1-3 days for results to come back.

    its a pity that even one family let alone thousands are put through hell of ordeals trying to get tested when yes there are ways to make it much easier.
     
  6. Peter_Tersteeg

    Peter_Tersteeg Mortgage Broker Business Member

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    Victoria is aggressively testing just about anyone. The easiest way to get a test is to go to Google, ask where you can get a test. Odds are one of the major shopping centres will be doing drive through testing in the car park.

    You then drive your car through and get tested without getting out of the car.

    My wife and I did this last Monday. The test isn't very pleasant. My wife's result came back negative last night, they sent my result back yet, but she's actually been out of the house a lot more than I have.

    First, they take your name, number and a few other details. Bring your license & medicare card. They ask a couple of basic medical related questions.

    The test consists of taking a swab at the back of your through. Fairly irritating, but not a big deal.

    They then take the (same) swab and shove it up your nose. Once on each side. It push it right up the back. Whilst I wouldn't call it painful, it definitely isn't much fun. I would still feel it and was sniffing an hour later.

    10/10 would do again! If I have to.
     
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  7. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    I had my test yesterday. A five minute wait. I registered details by phone, and then got tested.

    As @Peter_Tersteeg mentioned, having a swab poked right up your nasal passage (each side separately) isn't pleasant, but it's over with quite quickly.

    Once tested, I was told to go home immediately and isolate - no visits to pharmacy, supermarket or anything until results came back. This included isolating from my wife, probably the most unpleasant part of the testing procedure. They give you a medical certificate automatically.

    That was yesterday, I'm still waiting for the result.
     
  8. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    72 hours later, I'm still waiting for the result. Although if it was positive, I would have found out by now - but absence of a positive isn't enough to get a clearance back to work (and I'm casual, not eligible for jobkeeper). Testing is running late. I'm still confined to home, not allowed even to be close to my wife.

    Results are supposed to be back by this evening.

    Apparently, if I'd gone across the border into Canberra, I would have had the result in a few hours.
     
  9. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    Four days later, and I've only just got the result back. It's negative. Apparently, there was a small group of results which got swallowed up in the system, and they didn't even realise that they had gone missing.

    Several days lost work, without being able to go anywhere outside the house, and without even being able to go near my wife. Thank you covid testing.
     
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  10. significance

    significance Well-Known Member

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    I had a test at a drive-through clinic in the ACT a couple of weeks ago. Very straightforward. There was a wait of only about ten minutes. They passed me a mask, asked a few screening questions (I was eligible because I had a mild cough), and then went ahead with the test. I was given a leaflet about how to self-isolate at home and when to expect my results, and sent on my way. I had to stay home until the (negative) result arrived by text two days later.
     
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