On the first day it is quiet at the small test location in the parking lot of De Hooge Meeren shopping center. According to employee Noa Steenbergen, less than ten tests have been conducted. ‘People still need to know that we are here. For example, two hundred tests have already been conducted at our location in City today. ‘
The tests at HetHuisartslab are basically the same as the tests you take at the GGD, Steenbergen explains. Waiting for the results takes just as long as at the GGD. The difference is that your turn is faster; if you register in the morning, you can often come in the afternoon.
‘Security’
Two people arrived at the location around one o’clock. Despite not being busy, they are both waiting for the corona test, why? “We both had chewing gum in it and that is not allowed,” explains a woman in the waiting room. And so they have to bridge some time until testing makes sense.
The woman is here because she is going on vacation on Saturday. “I was informed that I had to be able to prove that I did not have corona, hence.”
The other one waiting, a man, has a different reason: “A colleague’s partner has the virus, so I want security myself.” Both have no complaints and will have to pay for the test themselves. But why is that?
Costs for the test will be reimbursed
General practitioner Gerben Lochorn and his practices are affiliated with Het Huisartslab. He says he does not make a significant profit with that. ‘It’s very simple: a test costs one hundred euros. If you meet the guidelines for having to be tested, that will be reimbursed by the government. ‘
If the employer demands a test, we say: Those people must also be served
Testing without complaints is not possible at the GGD, but it is at Het Huisartslab. ‘We recover the costs we incur from the customer, because we cannot declare them,’ says Lochorn. ‘But of course I make money. Otherwise I wouldn’t have a roof over my head anymore. ‘
Test for drivers driving to Germany
Lochorn focuses with the test on people who cannot go to the GGD. ‘There is no reason to test people without complaints,’ he explains. ‘But if your employer asks if you want to go to Germany, a country that wants a non-covid statement, the GGD will say:’ we won’t do that ‘.
Lochorn therefore tests drivers who have to drive through Germany. ‘We say:’ those people must also be served. ‘
Faster
Where you currently have to wait about three days at the GGD before you can be tested, this is not the case at HetHuisartslab. Lochorn: ‘At the moment it is easier to come to us, because everyone is coming to the GGD en masse. You can of course wait for the fact that, when all the attention is focused on us, we will soon have to apply a waiting period. ‘
You can of course wait for the fact that, when all the attention comes to us, we will also have to apply a waiting time
HetHuisartslab does about three hundred samples per location, much less than the GGD.
‘You can also just test here’
However, the waiting time was not the reason for Lochorn to do this. ‘I have three major GP practices and I heard that people in the area were sent by the GGD to Zwolle or Assen. That’s crazy, because we can also just test here. ‘
He continues: ‘Today I opened a location in Hoogezand. If you live there and do not have a car but you have complaints and the GGD says ‘come to Groningen’, how do you get there? I don’t think it’s sensible to use public transport with complaints. Hoogezand is the second largest town in the province, why can’t you go there for a test? ‘
People were sent by the GGD to Zwolle or Assen. That’s crazy, because we can also just test here
Both visitors to the new test location in Hoogezand were willing to pay for the test. “I am willing to pay that money for it,” says the woman. Her fellow waiting person agrees: “Knowledge is power.”
Also read:
– Groningen GGD is ready to test more, not nationally
– Dense German border is a headache for entrepreneurs
– Groningen in Germany: ‘I can’t see my family’
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