Revealed: Behind the scenes of Lancashire's Covid-19 testing centre in Preston

The queues may have reduced to a trickle, but the staff who man the regional Covid-19 testing station in Preston are still as diligent in their work as ever.
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Two months - and thousands of tests - after the centre opened on a college car park, the men and women in their protective gear who collect the samples for analysis still exercise the greatest of care with every visitor.

No-one knows if the next "patient" in line will test positive for coronavirus. They all have symptoms, so some inevitably will.

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And caution is still the watchword at Lancashire's only drive-through Covid centre as people arrive from all parts of the county to find out if they are a 'yes' or a 'no.'

Samples are taken from the back of the throat.Samples are taken from the back of the throat.
Samples are taken from the back of the throat.

Not that they get answers right away. The samples taken from the back of the throat and nose are sent off to laboratories for scientists to find out. The answers should come in a text within 48 hours.

For the first time since it opened in mid April the Post was allowed a peek behind the scenes today as testing was going on.

The car park of Preston's College in St Vincent's Road, Fulwood is one of 65 test centres around the UK. In addition there are 25 satellite test sites set up by NHS trusts to assess their staff and around 100 mobile units on the road, visiting places where they are most needed, including care homes, police stations and prisons.

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Preston's testing station, which is run in conjunction with Boots the Chemist and security firm G4S, opened on Friday April 17, initially for frontline NHS workers with symptoms.

Samples are collected by staff for analysis.Samples are collected by staff for analysis.
Samples are collected by staff for analysis.

By the following day police had to close the junction of St Vincent's Road and Sharoe Green Lane because congestion was on the verge of causing gridlock.

By the end of April the Government relaxed the rules on who could be tested to include those who work in supermarkets, care homes and construction sites.

Now anyone who has symptoms can call 111 and get an appointment to drive in and have samples taken.

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Anthony Halewood, testing supervisor from Boots, said visitors could either test themselves or be tested by an assistant.

The swab is put in a vial and sent off to the lab.The swab is put in a vial and sent off to the lab.
The swab is put in a vial and sent off to the lab.

"The practice is the same both ways . We take a cotton swab which will go to the back of your throat and we take a swab from your nose for about 10 seconds.

"Once we have done that the swab is then placed in a vial, which is then sealed and sent to the laboratory for testing."

Jo Pipes, regional lead for G4S, said: "It's really simple to register yourself online. You come to the centre where we have assisted tests and or self test lanes.

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"In the self test lanes you are given a test kit and then you conduct the test yourself. It's a really simple procedure.

"You drop your test kit off as you leave the site and then your test results are sent to you via a text message."

Numbers of how many people have been tested at Preston and how many have proved positive are not available.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said it was not their practice to release testing figures for each of the sites around the UK.

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