Have you been tested?

wat24

retro:electro wrote: »

I rang my GP there (i was referred earlier in the week, haven’t been given a test date yet) and according to him the new criteria starts today and anyone who has been referred should still get a call but he couldn’t be certain on that either. He said once the referral is sent it’s out of their hands and they can’t re-refer patients by adding in a symptom. So, all in all he didn’t really seem to know if I would get a call or not. I got a big spiel about self isolating and to call them if I felt worse.

My GP said this morning that basically all the previous referrals are gone the system is wiped clean. If you meet criteria for the test they have to start from scratch and fill out and send your referral again. Receptionist also said no one who was referred before will get a call as there gone from system now.

Duke of Url

mugsymugsy wrote: »

Having 94% of tests negative is not good use of resources.

As they are doing priority for health care workers and at risk people.

Continue with social distancing or self isolation if you have symptoms mild or severe.

What's the point in Karen who has a sore throat having a test when all she needs to do is self isolate. If she self isolates then great. Get Siobhan or Michael the nurse tested and see if they can get back to work. Get people in nursing homes tested etc

The mixed messaging and confusion is far from ideal from the government.

I have a feeling that many may have lied about the symptoms just for peace of mind of getting tested..

This opinion is not based on any facts. Just a feeling.

retro:electro

wat24 wrote: »

My GP said this morning that basically all the previous referrals are gone the system is wiped clean. If you meet criteria for the test they have to start from scratch and fill out and send your referral again. Receptionist also said no one who was referred before will get a call as there gone from system now.

Wow mine said the exact opposite! He seemed very unclear on it all though so yours is probably correct

mugsymugsy

retro:electro wrote: »

Wow mine said the exact opposite! He seemed very unclear on it all though so yours is probably correct

That clear message needs to be broadcsst on tv, radio, Twitter, HSE website etc

Whichever it is!

Runaways

STB. wrote: »

And that would be fine if the Taoiseach didn't claim to be following the South Korea model. We are doing nothing of the sort.



This is what South Korea did as explained in 6 minutes by their Foreign Minister.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IQkhaBifGQ

Did Leo say that??

Good lord the man is hopeless

Don’t be listening or believing anything out of his mouth.

mugsymugsy

mugsymugsy wrote: »

Having 94% of tests negative is not good use of resources.

As they are doing priority for health care workers and at risk people.

Continue with social distancing or self isolation if you have symptoms mild or severe.

What's the point in Karen who has a sore throat having a test when all she needs to do is self isolate. If she self isolates then great. Get Siobhan or Michael the nurse tested and see if they can get back to work. Get people in nursing homes tested etc

The mixed messaging and confusion is far from ideal from the government.

Where did you hear they are prioritizing health care workers...
I'm waiting for a test since Friday. Waiting to get back to work too...

tringle

[Deleted User] wrote: »

and in the meantime infect people? You need a medical cert to stay off work and get illness benefit. My job is still working with full staff (civil service) so in order to self isolate I need a medical cert saying I have something . I currently have one saying I am waiting Covid test - but if I am not getting test do I just to back to work where there are 50 other people in my area? I still have a sore throat and cough, but if HSE say you need to have a fever then I dont have Covid ?

If you are in civil service you do not need a medical cert to self isolate. If you have any symptoms or are waiting on a test you are on Special Leave and will be paid in full until either given the all clear from a test or to 48 hours after last sypmtom. Peoplepoint has a special self declaration form you complete and it will not be counted as sick leave.

retro:electro

mugsymugsy wrote: »

That clear message needs to be broadcsst on tv, radio, Twitter, HSE website etc

Whichever it is!

I literally just got a call back from him! He seemed more up to date now and said I won’t be tested. They are only referring people who are deemed at risk or are displaying severe symptoms. He said the system was over burdened and couldn’t cope. He must have only received that news in the last half an hour because he told me something completely different before eleven. I still have to act like i have it and isolate for two weeks from onset of symptoms.

STB.

Runaways wrote: »

Did Leo say that??

Good lord the man is hopeless

Don’t be listening or believing anything out of his mouth.

Yes, two days ago (and linked below, it was even a headline). And people are regurgitating it as if it were fact.

The simple matter is, for reasons unknown our testing regime failed since the 13/3. The cases built up and now they have scrapped those who came forward, as if they did not exist.

11 days for that decision to be made. There is NO EXCUSE for such dithering.

https://www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/were-following-south-korean-model-in-coronavirus-fight-varadkar-plays-down-talk-of-lockdown-in-ireland-39067488.html

mugsymugsy

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Where did you hear they are prioritizing health care workers...
I'm waiting for a test since Friday. Waiting to get back to work too...

Sorry I meant to say that they should going forward.

I would get in contact with your gp and state your circumstances

STB.

Deleted User wrote: »

Where did you hear they are prioritizing health care workers...
I'm waiting for a test since Friday. Waiting to get back to work too...

He didn't.

The National Testing Lab (NVRL) it seems is doing ALL the community testing it now appears. Their capacity is 2,000 per day.

The regional hospitals that have lab facilities are testing patients within their hospital and hospital staff.

Set out in this article in the Irish Times yesterday.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/coronavirus-test-backlog-how-did-it-emerge-and-can-it-be-controlled-1.4210269

michellie

When were you tested and when did you get your results? I'm still waiting on mine, tested on Saturday

jrosen

Having a situation where 94% of the tests are showing negative meant a change was needed. We dont have the capacity to be testing every single person that sneezes or has a fever.

Sexual Chocolate

Rang GP this morning to find out what the story is given the new news and was told by the lady on the desk that I no longer meet the criteria for testing due to lack of fever. Told that one of the doctors will ring me back later to confirm if I've to stay isolation or not. On 6th day of isolation at the moment.

Guessing I'll probably be told to remain in self isolation ?

retro:electro

Sexual Chocolate wrote: »

Rang GP this morning to find out what the story is given the new news and was told by the lady on the desk that I no longer meet the criteria for testing due to lack of fever. Told that one of the doctors will ring me back later to confirm if I've to stay isolation or not. On 6th day of isolation at the moment.

Guessing I'll probably be told to remain in self isolation ?

Yeah 14 days from onset of symptoms. Treat yourself as if you have it seems to be the advice. I can see that backfiring. A lot of people won’t have the discipline to do that and without a positive/negative confirmation might return to normality too soon

Cork Boy 53

retro:electro wrote: »

I rang my GP there (i was referred earlier in the week, haven’t been given a test date yet) and according to him the new criteria starts today and anyone who has been referred should still get a call but he couldn’t be certain on that either. He said once the referral is sent it’s out of their hands and they can’t re-refer patients by adding in a symptom. So, all in all he didn’t really seem to know if I would get a call or not. I got a big spiel about self isolating and to call them if I felt worse.

I rang my GP this morning and was told similar to you and he did think I would still get a call to be tested sometime in the next few days. It seems that there is a lot of confusion as to what the current procedure is and it needs to be clarified for all our sakes.

dr.kenneth noisewater

Sexual Chocolate wrote: »

Rang GP this morning to find out what the story is given the new news and was told by the lady on the desk that I no longer meet the criteria for testing due to lack of fever. Told that one of the doctors will ring me back later to confirm if I've to stay isolation or not. On 6th day of isolation at the moment.

Guessing I'll probably be told to remain in self isolation ?

Yes for 14 days

dr.kenneth noisewater

Cork Boy 53 wrote: »

I rang my GP this morning and was told similar to you and he did think I would still get a call to be tested sometime in the next few days. It seems that there is a lot of confusion as to what the current procedure is and it needs to be clarified for all our sakes.

https://twitter.com/FergalBowers/status/1242707150616637440?s=20
https://twitter.com/FergalBowers/status/1242707152566996992?s=20

tringle

tringle wrote: »

If you are in civil service you do not need a medical cert to self isolate. If you have any symptoms or are waiting on a test you are on Special Leave and will be paid in full until either given the all clear from a test or to 48 hours after last sypmtom. Peoplepoint has a special self declaration form you complete and it will not be counted as sick leave.

As soon as I called my manager in my department last week saying I had symptoms he specifically told me to send in doctors certs! I had to ring the doctor as I couldn't call in with symptoms and they emailed me a cert which I had to forward on to my manager.
Also I was out one day in February and I had to provide a doctors cert for that!

When I am back in work I will fill out self declaration on people point.

Cork Boy 53

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

https://twitter.com/FergalBowers/status/1242707150616637440?s=20
https://twitter.com/FergalBowers/status/1242707152566996992?s=20

I`m aware of that and I mentioned it to my GP but he told me that he still expected me to be tested in the next few days. Obviously not all GPs are singing from the same hymn sheet.

Martina1991

STB. wrote:

The numbers have been stacking up since the 13th. The question is why the tests have accumulated. If it is a capacity problem, you fix it. If its a lack of availability of testing gear you fix it. If its both, you fix both. You don't ignore those who have presented with symptoms. The pandemic is asymptomatic, so anyone displaying symptoms, should be tested. The GP's know what their responsibilities are and they know not to overwhelm the system. So the change 11 days later is simply not good enough for those awaiting tests.

We are trying to "fix" it.
Thousands of requests accumulate over a week and you think the service has failed.

Imagine 1,000 people arrive at a McDonalds at the same time. Workers are flat out trying to serve people. They have to wait. We could build a second McDonalds next door to meet demand, but that takes time.

You're the guy saying McDonalds is a failure. They should be able to serve us all at once. I'm hungry now.

STB. wrote:

I am talking about the hospitals with labs. Routine work does not receive priority. The truth in the matter is that those hospital labs are now testing exclusively the already infected patients and/or staff in their hospitals.

Every hospital has a laboratory.

"Routine" work is processing samples from those that are already sick and hospitalised.
I don't know how many people there are currently in hospital beds. Thousands anyway. Should their tests wait so we can solely focus on testing Covid swabs.

STB. wrote:

But when they looked in the cupboard they realised there weren't enough testing kits ? Or that there were not enough bio labs to test the numbers ? Pull the other one. There is more to this.

When we "looked in the cupboard", there was no testing kits.
This is a completely new virus. No hospital had kits and equipment and reagents and spare idle staff to just start working on this.


Its so easy to criticise and say the hse has failed, on your phone, from the comfort of your home when you don't understand the process.

STB.

Martina1991 wrote: »

We are trying to "fix" it.
Thousands of requests accumulate over a week and you think the service has failed.

Imagine 1,000 people arrive at a McDonalds at the same time. Workers are flat out trying to serve people. They have to wait. We could build a second McDonalds next door to meet demand, but that takes time.

You're the guy saying McDonalds is a failure. They should be able to serve us all at once. I'm hungry now.

They didn't arrive at the same time. The numbers accumulated over an 11 day period. Somebody sat on their hands and did nothing, hoping the problem would go away. It would have been evident from day one, that numbers would increase when the Italy tag was removed on 13 March.

Lesson 1: Do not make announcements that you cannot meet.
Lesson 2: Fix the problem and do it quickly, so it doesn't re-occur. Do not sit on your hands and then abandon those queued to test.
Lesson 3: Be clear and transparent with the general public.

The requirements for testing have been known for months. 45% of our cases are from community transmission and we have now switched to test criteria that doesn't test for community transmission. That does not wash with me.

Martina1991 wrote: »

Every hospital has a laboratory.

"Routine" work is processing samples from those that are already sick and hospitalised.

I don't know how many people there are currently in hospital beds. Thousands anyway. Should their tests wait so we can solely focus on testing Covid swabs.

Priority has been given to Covid19 treatment. Most everyday hospital work has been cleared, including treatments/non urgent ops and treatments for many cancer patients.

Martina1991 wrote: »

When we "looked in the cupboard", there was no testing kits.
This is a completely new virus. No hospital had kits and equipment and reagents and spare idle staff to just start working on this.

This "new" virus has been known about since January. The genetic sequence is well known and so are the PCR tests required. The reagent assemblies and kits should have been procured well in advance of announcing a testing regime.

Martina1991 wrote: »

Its so easy to criticise and say the hse has failed, on your phone, from the comfort of your home when you don't understand the process.

First off. Don't assume anything. I fully understand the process. I fully understand that we have fallen at the first hurdle in a race to control the spread of the virus, so that out public hospitals don't become overwhelmed, with needless amounts dying.

bennyl10

Text from my doctor confirming test(requested a week ago today) has been cancelled and to recontact to book again

gmisk

No test for me apparently because of new HSE guidelines i.e I don't have a temp.
But I have pain everytime I breathe, sore throat, headache, aches and pains all over. Plus I have had pneunonia before.

But I have been told the whole household has to self isolate for 2 weeks. Given sick cert for 2 weeks. Cal an ambulance if I get any worse.

Oh and they made sure to take my card details as soon as possible after anyway.

RentDayBlues

Tested today - it's almost 3 weeks since i started feeling ill so I'm expecting a negative test regardless of the original illness.

riffmongous

Regarding the 94%, what's the actual source for this?

2nd what was the previous testing criteria for contact tracing in Ireland? Did they test most people who came into contact with a positive case test, or only test those who came into contact and showed symptoms?

Cork Boy 53

gmisk wrote: »

No test for me apparently because of new HSE guidelines i.e I don't have a temp.
But I have pain everytime I breathe, sore throat, headache, aches and pains all over. Plus I have had pneunonia before.

But I have been told the whole household has to self isolate for 2 weeks. Given sick cert for 2 weeks. Cal an ambulance if I get any worse.

Oh and they made sure to take my card details as soon as possible after anyway.

GPs are supposed to be paid 30 euro by the Dept. of Health for every Covid-19 consultation they make. Seems like you are being ripped off by your GP.

donaghs

Martina1991 wrote: »

We are trying to "fix" it.
Thousands of requests accumulate over a week and you think the service has failed.

Imagine 1,000 people arrive at a McDonalds at the same time. Workers are flat out trying to serve people. They have to wait. We could build a second McDonalds next door to meet demand, but that takes time.

You're the guy saying McDonalds is a failure. They should be able to serve us all at once. I'm hungry now.



Every hospital has a laboratory.

"Routine" work is processing samples from those that are already sick and hospitalised.
I don't know how many people there are currently in hospital beds. Thousands anyway. Should their tests wait so we can solely focus on testing Covid swabs.


When we "looked in the cupboard", there was no testing kits.
This is a completely new virus. No hospital had kits and equipment and reagents and spare idle staff to just start working on this.


Its so easy to criticise and say the hse has failed, on your phone, from the comfort of your home when you don't understand the process.

The testing process has been a bit disappointing. Even still we are doing much better than the UK, where they basically don't seem to be testing anyone, unless they are in danger of dying. If you don't believe me, this is the online survey people are directed to: https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19/
Fill it in with any postcode and some of the symptoms, and you'll be told to just stay at home.

tringle

[Deleted User] wrote: »

As soon as I called my manager in my department last week saying I had symptoms he specifically told me to send in doctors certs! I had to ring the doctor as I couldn't call in with symptoms and they emailed me a cert which I had to forward on to my manager.
Also I was out one day in February and I had to provide a doctors cert for that!

When I am back in work I will fill out self declaration on people point.

Peoplepoint sent out an updated email on 15th March with all the details, do you get them to your personal mail or can someone in your office forward it to you. If you want to PM i can send it to you.

Happyilylost

STB. wrote: »

They didn't arrive at the same time. The numbers accumulated over an 11 day period. Somebody sat on their hands and did nothing, hoping the problem would go away. It would have been evident from day one, that numbers would increase when the Italy tag was removed on 13 March.

People say stupid things in a crisis..... but really..... you believe the roll out of new testing centre after new testing centre across the country, the hiring of 1000's of new staff across our health service and ordering 10's of thousands of testing kits is the equivalent of someone sitting on their hands hoping this would go away????