Updated: 18 December to amend address.
Solihull Council is opening an additional COVID walk-through test site in North Solihull as part of its continued work to increase local access to COVID testing for residents.
The test site, which is able to offer Lateral Flow Tests that provide quick results, will open on Thursday 17 December. It is located at the Newington Resource Centre building (Newington Road, Marston Green, B37 7RW). The site, owned by the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, has been lent to the Council to use as a testing site until the end of March 2021.
Tests for this site and for Roundmead Day Centre will need to be booked via an online form. Anyone needing help to book should call 0121 704 6918 (line open Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm and Friday 9am-4pm). No one should turn up without a booking.
The site will initially open from 10am to 12pm, Monday-Friday. These opening hours and days may be extended if there is an increase in demand. Any update(s) to the service, including opening hours, will be updated via the Council website here.
Residents should arrive a few minutes before their booked appointment and should follow the signs that are in place which explain where to queue, enter and exit the building. Anyone attending the site should wear a face covering (unless exempt), keep it on at all times, maintain social distancing when queuing, and only enter the building when directed. This will help to keep everyone safe.
There are traffic signs in place in the area to direct residents to the test site and there is onsite car parking available, however in order to avoid congestion residents should arrive only a few minutes before and depart a few minutes after their pre-booked appointment.
Residents can access a Lateral Flow Test at this walk-through site whether they have COVID symptoms: a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste or not.
Everyone is reminded to keep following the rules to keep the infection rate down. Please keep social distancing, hand washing and wearing face coverings where required, unless exempt.
Anyone testing positive will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace to help them track their contacts. This will help people to identify who they may have been in close contact with, protecting others from further transmission.
Ruth Tennant, Director of Public Health, said:
“Increased testing remains a vital tool in combatting the spread of the virus, so it’s good news we have another local test site available to residents and from which we can respond to local outbreaks quickly.
"We remain concerned by the recent rise in local cases after lockdown was lifted, so it’s essential that people restrict their movements, get tested rapidly and really stick with self-isolation. Furthermore, the introduction of Lateral Flow Tests into our local testing system means that Solihull residents can benefit from finding out more quickly whether they have the virus.
“We will continue to look at how we can increase accessibility to speedier testing over the coming weeks. Remember if you have any symptoms at all, please self-isolate even before you get a test.”