In Rouen, the “obstacle course” to get tested for Covid-19

At a time when the department was officially classified in “red zone”, since September 6, 2020, for the “active circulation of the virus” Covid-19, Cécile, a resident of Mont-Saint-Aignan, in the agglomeration of Rouen (Seine-Maritime) describes a real “obstacle course” before accessing the precious test. She recounts her recent, unsatisfactory experience as she sought, “all afternoon”, to secure an appointment for her ailing husband. TheRegional health agency (ARS), aware of the problem, does everything possible to remedy it.

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“Four working days” before an appointment

Wednesday September 2, 2020, her husband, who presents “flu symptoms”, goes to his doctor who provides him with a prescription to be tested for Covid-19. But the document does not speed up the care.

From that moment, we are totally on our own. He was put on sick leave until September 4, and of course it was necessary to have the result of the test before the end of this stop. However, when I called the Saint-Sever laboratory, the first possible appointment was Tuesday, September 8 … In other words, it takes four working days before you can get tested …

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The other laboratories offer more or less the same waiting times, in addition to the average “five days” before obtaining the results. “But it is not possible to wait so long, because it is a real race against time with the work stoppage”, deplores Cécile. The 38-year-old then turned to walk-in testing centers, but again, the conditions were not optimal.

At the Cèdres screening center in Bois-Guillaume (open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.), she was warned that the wait could reach two hours. But it is unthinkable, for Cécile, that her husband of 44 years, weakened, remains standing so long. When contacted, the site’s medical team actually reported “1h30 to two hours of queuing” and recommended “showing up early, to be sure of being taken care of”.

ARS is working on “the problem”

At the Saint-Julien hospital (in Petit-Quevilly), which depends on the Rouen University Hospital, the wait communicated reaches three hours, still according to the Rouennaise. At the Saint-Sever sampling point, passers-by and on-site health professionals “regularly” observe long queues. “In the Rouen metropolis, screening is really not easy …” breathes Cécile. After “25 phone calls” during the day of September 2, the 38-year-old young woman finally finds a solution with “a smaller lab”. This is the Flaubert laboratory, located boulevard des Belges. “We finally managed to get an appointment for September 4th. And the results [négatifs, NDLR] arrived 24 hours later ”.

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The Flaubert laboratory team, with around 80 samples per day, does not show any congestion. Appointments are made there within 48 hours maximum.

The ARS is well aware of these “tight deadlines”, both concerning the making of appointments and the obtaining of results. She is actively working on this issue, particularly on patient prioritization and increasing analytical capacities.

The Rouen University Hospital, in particular at Saint-Julien hospital, has extended its hours and reinforced the teams. We advise labs to reserve time slots for priority patients.

A platform to speed up support

These priority patients must have “symptoms and a prescription” from the attending physician. As part of the prioritization desired by the authorities, going through a general practitioner would increase the chances of being taken care of quickly. Health professionals, moreover, have recently had access to a telephone platform set up by the ARS, which helps patients who cannot find an appointment. According to the indications of the doctors, the Agency finds, for their patients, places which can take care of them within 24 hours.

But the ARS says it is far from being “alerted by an unmanageable situation”:

The analytical capacities in the labs, with more manpower and more automatons, will increase. This will make the results faster. […] The actions are taking place.

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