Some 6,000 students have “no access” to rapid Covid testing
With Westmeath having the highest 14-day incidence of Covid 19 in the country, a medical professional working with over 6,000 students on the Athlone campus of Technological University of Shannon: Midlands Midwest has made an urgent appeal for rapid Covid testing facilities to be put in place.
TUS Nurse and Health Student Health Centre Co-oordinator on the Athlone campus, Laura Tully is currently dealing with “up to 100 calls a day” from students who are experiencing Covid symptoms but she says “the stark reality is that they have no access whatsoever to rapid testing, and it is a huge issue.”
Ms Tully has contacted both Higher Education Minister, Simon Harris, and Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, in recent weeks calling for antigen tests to be made available on campus for asymptomatic students and for a rapid PCR testing system to be put in place within walking distance of the University.
“If a symptomatic student comes forward and they don’t have transport to get to their nearest Test Centre in Mullingar, Tullamore or Roscommon the only option I have is to refer them to the National Ambulance Service, which is already under severe pressure, for a home test, and in some cases that can take up to five or six days,” said Ms. Tully.
In some instances, symptomatic students are collected by their parents and return home to other parts of the country for testing “and the virus travels with them” points out Laura Tully, who described the whole testing system as “a huge and very urgent issue.”
She also cites the difficulties being experienced by the huge cohort of overseas students on the campus of Athlone TUS in accessing Covid testing. “Many of these students are only familiarising themselves with Athlone and they don’t have transport, so how can I refer them to Tullamore for a PCR test, they wouldn’t even know how to get there,” she points out.
While the University says there is “no evidence of onward transmission of Covid” on the campus of Athlone TUS, and “all migitation measures have been put in place” it acknowledges that “the complex movement of students between home, College, work, placement, sport and social life means they are a high risk group who need regular antigen testing and rapid access to PCR testing.”
Ms Tully said her “overwhelming experience” since the beginning of the pandemic has been that students are “anxious to do the right thing” and are coming forward if they have Covid symptoms.
“If they are in need of a PCR test, that is where we hit a brick wall and I am worried that we will be unable to continue to stem the tide of transmission on campus unless rapid testing facilities are put in place.”
Meanwhile, a local GP, Dr. Catherine Thornton, who works alongside Laura Tully with the TUS Midlands Student Health Service said the “burden on student health, much like general practice currently, is unsustainable” and she spoke of the “frustration” being experienced by the student body in Athlone “at the lack of access to PCR testing” in the local area.
“The trajectory of this disease can be changed by breaking chains of transmission through adherence to all the layers of the public health advice,” said Dr. Thornton, who added that students are currently “layering up their protective measures” in advance of the start of College exams in early December.
“While we have an option to refer students without transport to the HSE for testing at home, our experience is that as a result of the current surge, students are encountering delays in being tested,” pointed out Dr Thornton, who added that they are currently endeavouring to provide all students with "a same day nurse telephone triage service. “