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Sunderland Covid testing site could be moved north of the Wear; The current site in Hendon could be packed up and moved to North Hylton.

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Byline: By, Chris Binding, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to close a COVID-19 testing site and relocate it north of the River Wear have been revealed by public health bosses.

Several walk-through testing sites were previously set up across Sunderland during the coronavirus pandemic to improve access in certain areas.

However increased availability of testing, including the ability to order tests online, has led health bosses to review some physical city sites.

At a council scrutiny panel this week, Sunderland City Council's public health officials confirmed they were looking set up a testing site in North Hylton.

As a result of the move, the testing centre at Commercial Road in Hendon is expected to close.

Public health bosses said the changes are based on the need for testing facilities, rather than case rates, with an exact site to be confirmed in North Hylton in due course.

"We did have a feeling that the north of the city, at various times, has had a need for more testing access than it had," said Kath Bailey, public health specialist at Sunderland City Council.

"They just didn't have the same level of accessibility because they didn't have a physical site on their patch, we've wanted to put something in place in the north for a while.

"We've got the opportunity to do that now so we're going to take that chance, it's not that the rates are particularly much higher, that's not what it's about.

"We're just aware that the need is greater there than it might be in other parts of the city."

The public health officer was responding to a question from councillor Dominic McDonough at Wednesday's Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny...

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