The Scottish Government should take the lead on mobile testing to ensure care workers right across the country have access, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
Testing sites have been set up in various parts of Scotland, but take-up in some has been low.
At the Glasgow Airport site, staff were even sent home early because no-one was coming through the doors.
Some parts of the UK have begun to roll out the mobile facilities in order to bring testing to health and care workers, rather than put the onus on hardworking staff themselves.
And Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw (pictured) said, because Scotland’s geography meant workers were more thinly spread, the mobile approach could radically increase the number of people being tested.
He used the example of Highland council, one of the largest local authorities in the UK in terms of land mass, which only has one central testing facility in Inverness.
Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw said:
“We know that the uptake of testing in some of these hubs has been disappointingly low.
“We also know that’s not because people don’t want to be tested, it’s because getting to these places after a long shift is simply out of the question.
“That’s why we should be looking into taking these tests to the workers across Scotland.
“With the best will in the world, a nurse in Dumfries and Galloway is not going to drive to Glasgow Airport after 12 hours on the frontline.
“And we have seen this week that in the Highlands, there’s only one testing hub, which is great for those in and around Inverness, but nothing like close enough for many others.
“We’ve argued that the Scottish Government can diverge from the UK approach when it can be shown that it’s of benefit to Scots.
“Taking the lead on mobile testing, especially given our distinct geography, would be the perfect way to do that.”
