Transcript of Getting a COVID-19 test
Rachel Mcfarlane, Incident Response Manager, St Vincent's Hospital: So when patients present to our clinic they are briefly screened by the screening staff.
If they come without a mask, they are given a mask at the screening station and educated on how to wear that appropriately.
Ideally if they bring their identification that is helpful, and their medicare card, but our clinic is a walk-in service.
They don't need to pay, they don't need a referral to come here.
To find your nearest testing clinic it is easily found on the NSW Health website.
And there are nearly 200 different locations where you can be tested for COVID-19.
If they meet the requirements, their details are collected, they are registered with our administration staff.
They also educate patients on how to self-isolate, they are also often hit with questions about the rest of the family, how do I keep them safe. And the staff go through everything with them.
And then the swab occurs. I wouldn't actually say it is painful, it's just unpleasant but the unpleasantness lasts for just a couple of seconds and then it's done.
They are educated on how they will receive their results and also how to follow up if they don't receive a text message with their results and the appropriate numbers to call if they haven't received anything within 24-72 hours.
So after our swabs have been collected they go in a Pathology esky, which is on site here, and then they take them back to the lab and get processed immediately.
So one final message I would like to give the community is that if you have the mildest of respiratory symptoms please come to any testing clinic and be tested to help stop the spread through the community.