Island Health plans to add a new test centre on the south lsland to meet a growing demand for COVID-19 nasal swab and gargle tests. Details could be available this week.
Island Health’s COVID-19 call centre has reduced call delays from days to hours with a new call-back feature but now the wait for that scheduled nasal swab or gargle test can be up to five days.
“We know right now that our pinch point is south Island,” said Victoria Schmid, vice president of pandemic planning for Island Health.
“We’re looking to add more capacity in south Island next week,” said Schmid. There are three test sites in the capital region and the health authority plans to announce a fourth in the south Island this week.
Saanich’s Bobby Kenny, 38, waited only four-and-a-half hours on Thursday to get a call back from Island Health’s COVID call centre, which serves 21 locations on the Island. That was fine, he said. But was given a test date of today for himself and his eight-year-old daughter. That’s a five-day wait he called “unacceptable.”
It would have put the part-time Amazon driver out of work for an additional week after results and clearance to return to work. Kenny had been self-isolating since a runny nose turned into a fever on Oct. 7. He found the wait “way too long” especially since it would make it financially difficult for his family to do the right thing by being tested.
Kenny, who lives in a suite of a home shared with his in-laws, was eventually squeezed in on Sunday and he and his daughter received negative results on Monday.
The absence of a call-back feature became a problem in July when demand for tests increased. As postponed surgeries were rescheduled and pandemic restrictions eased, hiring enough nurses and call agents proved to be difficult.
Callers were left dialing for hours or days to talk to a call-centre agent. Once a person got through, they would be put on hold again to be assessed by a nurse. It was a lengthier process than the health authority anticipated.
Improvements now include additional staff, a call-back feature with options for educational information, screening information and the option of leaving a name and number to book a test.
Schmid said the health authority worked with Telus and now call-backs are happening on average within one to four hours and no longer than eight hours. As well, “we took that nursing assessment piece right out.”
The call centre system is “vastly improved,” said Schmid.
The “choke point” now lies with getting the tests done. The goal is 24 hours. On Thursday and Friday in Campbell River and in the south Island, however, tests were being booked four and five days out.
But Nanaimo was booking tests within a day.
Callers can opt to go to an alternate test centre outside their region.
More staff is being added as well as more lanes at the drive-through centres, said Schmid. Each lane, staffed by a nurse who administers the swab or gargle test, can accommodate 150 tests per day. The health authority on Friday was planning to open an extra lane at both the Saanich Peninsula and West Shore test centres.
On Oct. 8, there were 846 tests performed on the Island. The average for the week previous was about 700 tests a day with a low of 628 and a high of 858, said Schmid. On Sept. 28 the Island performed about 530 tests.
“Now we’re doing about 250 more,” said Schmid.
The call centre and testing sites were well-staffed and open throughout the Thanksgiving long weekend, said Schmid.
“I think our existing challenges really are just making sure that we have enough staff in place to continue to meet the growing demand.
“I’m feeling confident in our call centre at this point — I think we’ve got over that hurdle now,” said Schmid. “And so now we’re just continuing to work to make sure we have enough staff at our collection [test] sites to make sure that we can continue to drive for our target of everyone getting their tests within 24 hours.”
The goal is for call-backs within a maximum of eight hours, a test scheduled within 24 hours, and results within 24 hours after testing.
