Armed Forces will be sent to help councils with Covid tests government vows in response to Sunderland Council leader's concerns

The Government has said the Armed Forces and the NHS Test and Trace service will be hand to help bring in mass testing to Sunderland.
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Coun Miller, a member of the LA7 which represents council areas across Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland which all signed to a mass testing programme last month, also said his request for an additional testing site in Washington was turned down.

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Coun Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, has raised concerns about how mass testing and the vaccination programme in Sunderland will be rolled out.Coun Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, has raised concerns about how mass testing and the vaccination programme in Sunderland will be rolled out.
Coun Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, has raised concerns about how mass testing and the vaccination programme in Sunderland will be rolled out.
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He had hoped it would join others at Jack Crawford House, next to Houghton Primary Care Centre, and two mobile units.

The Government has said the median distance to reach a test is 2.5miles – the distance from Washington Village to Houghton’s site is 5.5 miles by car, while to get to the Hendon centre it is 8.6 miles.

Coun Miller highlighted how 2,000 members of the Army helped run the scheme in Liverpool, but says there has been no pledge of people or cash to help boost the testing here on Wearside.

In response, the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Local authorities are key channels to support testing and those that fall into tier 3 will be able to draw on the support of NHS Test and Trace and the Armed Forces to help the delivery of extensive community testing, including targeting highest risk areas under the Government’s new Covid Winter Plan.

Soldiers from the 1st battalion Coldstream Guards helped run the testing scheme set up in Liverpool. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)Soldiers from the 1st battalion Coldstream Guards helped run the testing scheme set up in Liverpool. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Soldiers from the 1st battalion Coldstream Guards helped run the testing scheme set up in Liverpool. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
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“And with more than 700 test sites now in operation as part of our existing symptomatic testing service, the median distance travelled for a test is just 2.5 miles.”

It added the NHS has “decades of experience in rolling out successful widespread vaccination programmes and has put in place extensive deployment plans” while councils in tier 3 areas can apply for the new six-week community testing programme to “complement wider local strategies to tackle the virus.”

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