THE STATE's peak medical group has slammed a lack of COVID-19 testing resources in Ballarat and is pressuring the state government to re-open a Sebastopol fever clinic.
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Australian Medical Association Victoria president Julian Rait said Ballarat was "dramatically exposed" to meet the challenge of emerging cases from Melbourne.
Associate Professor Rait said Ballarat urgently needed a rapid expansion of testing services to better protect the city and called on the state government on Monday to both re-start the Sebastopol test site and provide further funding to Ballarat Health Services for more options.
He said the average three-day wait time for a symptomatic test in Ballarat and a non-central location for testing in Lucas were completely discouraging for a city the size of Ballarat.
The AMA has also flagged breathalyser-style testing at police check-points on metropolitan borders to regional Victoria in a bid to better pick-up asymptomatic carriers leaving lockdowns.
This comes as medical practitioners in Ballarat, led by general practitioners, fear a lack of resources and access to testing is putting this city in danger of infection from the virus.
Ballarat has flatlined on 11 COVID-19 cases, with no active cases since May, but new active cases have started to emerge in regional Victoria, including Moorabool Shire (two), Geelong (five), Bendigo (four) and Warrnambool (one).
While GPs in Ballarat can offer the COVID-19 test, some choose not to for personal health reasons or for a lack of appropriate personal protective equipment.
"The whole idea of a respiratory clinic is to take pressure off GPs and PPE needed," Associate Professor Rait said.
"The Lucas clinic is neither central and not apparently efficient. People are waiting way too long for a complete result."
The whole idea of a respiratory clinic is to take pressure off GPs and PPE needed. The Lucas clinic is neither central and not apparently efficient.
- Julian Rait, Australian Medical Association Victoria president
Ballarat moved to a sole testing site, led by UFS Medical, at Lucas Community Hub after a statewide testing blitz in May. The Sebastopol site was returned to the BHS public dental clinic.
BHS acute operations director Ben Kelly and UFS primary care operations manager Danielle Trezise have maintained the Sebastopol closure helped clear up public confusion on where to get tested and where to call for results.
Waits for test appointments in Lucas have billowed to about three days but Ms Trezise has said the most urgent cases were always squeezed in, as were same-day referrals from GPs who did not test in their clinic.
Lucas has been averaging between 200 and 250 COVID-19 tests each day since Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews first moved to tighten restrictions in Melbourne.
BHS and UFS review testing operations daily and Ms Trezise told The Courier late last week more staffing resources were needed to expand testing capacity. She also said provisions for asymptomatic tests, such as for interstate workers, was also a concern.
Associate Professor Rait said this was not good enough for a city the size of Ballarat. The Lucas clinic also serves the broader district, such as Ballan, for public testing.
He suggested having drive-through testing on the Western Highway, near Bacchus Marsh, and in a service centre close to Ballarat could make it much easier for people to access testing on their way home or to work, particularly those who commute between Ballarat and Melbourne.
City of Ballarat mayor Ben Taylor and BHS' Ben Kelly have called on people living in Melbourne to seriously consider an essential need to venture to Ballarat for work, particularly as active COVID-19 cases soar in nearby regions such as Wyndham (Werribee) and Melton.
Travel into regional Victoria for work and school from Melbourne, and vice-versa, is allowed under existing lockdown restrictions.
Anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms, even the mildest runny nose, is urged to get a COVID-19 test. In Ballarat, this is free via Lucas, phone 43 11 1571.
For more information on COVID-19, visit: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus.
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