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Health officials have made an urgent call for the public not to go to the Royal Bolton Hospital emergency department, which is “very busy”, in hopes of being tested for COVID-19.
The city of Greater Manchester has the highest coronavirus infection rate in England, with the equivalent of 192 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants recorded in the week to September 10.
And in recent days, about 100 people have come forward in an accident and emergency wanting to be tested.
Authorities said patients should only go there if they have an accident or life-threatening illness and need urgent medical attention.
It comes as the government struggles to cope with the growing demand for tests in England.
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, tweeted: “A&E is currently very busy, managing a large volume of patients who have arrived requesting a # COVID19 test.
“Patients are asked not to report to the hospital.”
Dr. Francis Andrews, medical director of the trust, said: “We are seeing more people enter with suspicion or confirmation COVID-19 as a result of the extremely high rate of infections in Bolton.
“This is not a change we want to see. The situation in the hospital is under control and we were well prepared for this.”
“However, the rate continuing to rise is cause for concern, and we continue to urge the people of Bolton to consider others when making decisions that could jeopardize their safety.”
Dr. Andrews added: “We are extremely busy in our emergency department as a result of this increase. Only attend this department if you have experienced a life-threatening accident or illness and need urgent medical attention.
“We need to keep people safe, and having a limited number in this area is key to this. Almost 100 people have come to the department in recent days to request a COVID test.”
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Instead, the trust is telling people who have coronavirus symptoms to isolate themselves for seven days and book a test via NHS.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.
A statement on the trust’s website read: “The hospital is now seeing an increased number of [COVID] patients under the age of 65 admitted, some between 40 and 50 years, which is a significantly younger age group than at the peak of the pandemic in April and May. “
And the president of the trust, Professor Donna Hall, tweeted: “The emergency department is very busy today as people who cannot get tested come to us for help.
“This is why having a working testing and tracking system is so important – a day’s delay can cause hundreds more infections. This is a very worrying situation for us at Bolton.”
The trust said there were 23 confirmed COVID-19 patients and 26 suspected cases at the hospital.
Speaking on the national landscape, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there would be a “prioritization” of testing for people in acute clinical need and those in social care settings, as he recognized the “operational challenges” in the system.
He faced complaints in the House of Commons about people being forced to travel long distances or even enter fake addresses in the hopes of obtaining proof.
But Hancock told MPs that the average distance traveled to a test site is now 5.8 miles while defending the government’s efforts.
