People needing a COVID-19 test in Island Health can now request callback

People needing a COVID-19 test in Island Health can now request callback
File photo/CHEK
Signs showing the drive-through COVID-19 testing site in Victoria.

People in Island Health who are booking a COVID-19 test can now request a callback from the testing centre and the health authority says it expects to see an improvement in call wait times in the coming days.

The feature comes one week after a technical issue led to a backlog of calls. People were still reporting hours-long waits to reach the testing centre throughout last week and into this week.

Island Health has also eliminated the additional assessment that is done over the phone where the nurse asks if someone needs additional healthcare support.

Victoria Schmid, the vice-president of pandemic planning for Island Health, said when COVID-19 first hit the province, surgeries were cancelled and more staff were available to support the call centres.

But during the summer, the staff moved back to surgery appointments.

“As we were trying to staff back up in the call centre to make sure people could get in for testing, we also at the same time saw an increase in demand for testing and an increase in calls to the call centre to get that testing completed.”

Schmid says there have been difficulties finding staff and then training does take time. However, Schmid said they are recruiting more people and also starting Tuesday, nurses aren’t doing an assessment asking if people needed additional healthcare support. This means people will be able to call and just book the test.

“We’ve eliminated that second piece so now you call in, you talk to a registration clerk and you get booked in for that appointment for testing,” Schmid said.

“We should see calls really start to speed up and we should see our ability to get more callers through every day in the next coming days based on that change.”

Schmid said there are more than 1,000 unique callers each day, but with repeat calls, there are around 4,000 calls a day.

The Island Health COVID-19 Testing Call Centre is available for people with symptoms of COVID-19. You can either call directly or request a callback from a scheduler.

The Call Centre is open Monday to Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30.p.m., but you may receive a call back after Call Centre hours.

You can phone the call centre at 1-844-901-8442 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

There are two options available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to request a callback.

Island Health says the Call Centre team will confirm your need for a test and book a test at a collection site near you.

Appointments for COVID-19 testing have to be pre-booked through Island Health’s Call Centre. There are no walk-up or drive-in appointments available.

Schmid recommends calling the testing centre later in the day as there tends to be an influx of calls in the morning.

“I’m really sorry for any frustration people are having and please know, we do anticipate seeing some marked improvement over the next couple of days,” she said.

Canadians across the country have been forced to wait days to find out if they are infected after being tested for COVID-19, which Canada’s chief public health officer acknowledged Tuesday as a reason for concern.

“It absolutely is worrisome because if you have a significant backlog and people don’t get their test results for a number of days, you’ve now lost time for doing the contact tracing,” Tam said at a media briefing in Ottawa.

“That can accelerate the spread. So it is something we really must all work together and try to reduce as quickly as possible.”

Rapid tests that can produce results in hospitals, nursing homes, schools and even homes have come to be seen as one way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as the world waits for a vaccine.

While Health Canada approved one test last week that doesn’t need a lab, the device still needs about 90 minutes for a result and involves a portable unit. The focus for many has instead been on what are called antigen tests, which have been described as similar to a pregnancy test when it comes to speed and ease of use.

Other countries have already approved rapid antigen tests, with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announcing plans to buy and distribute 150 million units of one rapid test in the country. The World Health Organization has also reached an agreement to supply 120 million tests to developing countries.

Yet the number of approved antigen tests in Canada currently sits at zero, with officials warning that approving a device that does not produce accurate results can actually spread of COVID-19.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended federal regulators on Tuesday as the Conservatives blasted the government for the lack of antigen tests and called on the Liberals to step up their efforts.

“Medical experts will make the determinations that are best for Canadians,” Trudeau told reporters after co-hosting a United Nations conference to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts in developing countries.

“On the political side, as much as we’d love to see those tests as quickly as possible, we’re not going to tell our scientists how to do their job and do that work.”

Even as Trudeau defended the lack of tests, Health Canada was unveiling its first-ever guidelines for companies hoping to get their antigen devices approved by the regulator. The federal procurement minister also announced a deal to purchase 7.9 million such tests once they are sanctioned.

The new guidelines state that a device must be at least 80 per cent accurate to be authorized, reflecting concerns that inaccuracies _ particularly false negatives _ can lead to the further spread of COVID-19. That includes five antigen tests currently under review.

Asked why the guidelines were only being published now when the rush to develop and approve a rapid antigen test has been underway for months, Health Canada’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Supriya Sharma, indicated the standard was already being applied.

“We’ve had companies come in with submissions,” she said.

“We’ve been looking at those submissions, we’ve been working with them on a case-by-case basis as we go through that process. This is a way to sort of standardize that, systemize it and put it out in a guidance document where it’s publicly available.”

Sharma went on to describe the effort to approve a rapid antigen test in Canada as one of the regulator’s top priorities. She suggested one of the reasons some devices have been approved elsewhere but not here is because the companies behind them have not submitted them to Health Canada.

“You have to have a company that has a willingness to submit to Canada, but most importantly, has the capacity to produce those devices,” Sharma said. “As soon as we’re aware of a company that may be manufacturing a device and marketing it internationally ? we do have staff that would reach out.”

As Ottawa was inking deals for vaccine doses ahead of the inevitable global rush that will accompany the successful development of an inoculation, Procurement Minister Anita Anand on Tuesday announced a deal with U.S. firm Abbott Laboratories for 7.9 million yet-to-be-approved antigen tests.

Sharma could not say when the Abbott test, or any others currently under review by Health Canada, will be approved. The test was conditionally approved in the U.S. earlier this year before concerns were raised about its accuracy. The Food and Drug Administration reissued its approval this month.

Conservative health critic Michelle Rempel Garner accused the Liberals of having been asleep at the wheel while other countries rushed to get rapid tests into the field.

She called on Health Minister Patty Hajdu to personally lead Canada’s efforts to get devices into the approval process.

“She should be out actively looking for these types of technologies and proactively getting them into the review process,” Rempel Garner said

“At a time when every country in the world is proactively trying to acquire and develop these technologies to protect their people, Justin Trudeau’s cabinet is content to say: ‘We’re letting them come to us.’ Our allies are winning in this race for supplies.”

On Tuesday, B.C. reported 105 new cases of COVID-19 and one death. No new cases were reported in the Island Health region. 

With files from Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

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