Ambulance service takes over mobile testing in Scotland

Mobile testing units which have been run by the Army during the coronavirus pandemic are being officially handed over to the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Soldiers have conducted about 100,000 Covid-19 tests in communities around Scotland since late April, with the highest number of people tested at an army run Mobile Testing Unit (MTU) on one day recorded as 773.

The Army said the soldiers' work had been instrumental in maintaining the safety of communities across Scotland, as part of the integrated response to coronavirus, as well as helping to reach some of the country's most remote and rural areas. At peak times, 18 MTUs were deployed.

Soldiers and ambulance service staff have worked together in preparation for the handover.

Some of the MTU staff have been Army reservists, mobilised at the start of the pandemic restrictions. They will now be going back to their civilian jobs and their regular Army colleagues will return to their units and their operational military roles.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “I want to thank the Armed Forces personnel who have been running the mobile testing units in Scotland since they were set up in April. Transferring operational delivery to the Scottish Ambulance Service will help to ensure that mobile testing units continue to support testing in local communities and provide a sustainable, long-term response to the pandemic.  

“The units play an important role in NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect programme which is controlling the spread of Covid-19 in the community.  But to help that work, it is vital that everyone who has symptoms isolates and books a test immediately. Continuing to supress the spread of the virus is the goal we all share. NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect has a crucial and central role in protecting all of us and will help to ensure we move through the phases of the lockdown exit strategy. It is a collective effort to help us protect others and save lives.”

Pauline Howie, chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “Our staff have done a tremendous job throughout the pandemic, working hard to keep patients safe, and we will recruit staff to extend our Service to support the crucial Test and Protect programme.

“Our staff work at the heart of all Scotland’s communities, so using us to take Covid-19 testing forward makes good sense – not only can we maintain the high standards set by the Armed Forces, we can ensure people continue to get good quality face-to-face assistance.”