HSE turns down Inishowen Covid-19 test centre despite high Covid-19 rate

In spite of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Inishowen running at almost three times the rate in the State as a whole, the HSE has refused to open a Covid-19 test centre in the peninsula.

The high rate of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the peninsula's two Local Electoral Areas (LEA) is believed to be linked to large gatherings and parties in people's homes.

As of November 16, the number of confirmed cases in the Carndonagh LEA was 59 and in the Buncrana LEA it was 86.

The Carndonagh LEA rate was 347.8 per 100,000 and the Buncrana LEA rate was 384.5 per 100,000, as opposed to 121.3 per 100,000 of the population across the State.

Speaking to Donegal Live, Councillor Albert Doherty (Sinn Féin) said he was “disappointed” by the HSE's response to his request for a dedicated Covid-19 test centre in Inishowen.

He added: “After a five week wait for a reply to my request, I received what I would describe as a disappointing and dismissive HSE response.

“Organising travel and availing of public transport connections to and from the Letterkenny Covid-19 test centre, continue to present difficulties for Inishowen people. I was, therefore, disappointed at the length of time the HSE took to respond to my request and its apparent dismissal of the considerable distance Inishowen people have to travel for a Covid-19 test.”

In a reply to Cllr Doherty, the HSE's Head of Service, Primary Care said: “At present there remains Testing capacity in the Testing Centre in Letterkenny. The Letterkenny Test Centre was purpose built for the population of the Letterkenny and Inishowen network areas and continues to meet the demand from these areas. The HSE continues to take guidance from Public Health and to date there has been no national directive to advise that a test centre is required in Inishowen.

“Whilst we understand the impact travelling to Letterkenny can create, guidance from Public Health to date has been to advise that a test centre is not required in Inishowen at the moment. Should this change then the HSE will of course proactively consider the request.

“The expectation for anyone who is escorting a suspected case to a test centre, regardless if they are family or not, is that the suspected case would wear a mask while travelling to and from a test centre, regardless of distance. In addition to this, if they are not family members, and are from 2 different households, the expectation is that both parties would, in the absence of the ability to socially distance, be wearing a mask whilst travelling in a car regardless of where they are going and the length of the journey.

“People are encouraged to travel for appointments related to their health. The GP continues to perform the initial clinical assessment and makes the referral for testing but the testing process is removed from the GP surgery so as to protect the other patients and the surgery environment from the risks associated with potential exposure to Covid-19. The Test Centre is specially designed to protect the public and staff alike,” concluded the HSE statement.