The facilities management (FM) contractor Mitie reports that it’s providing services for a further seven Coronavirus Regional Testing Sites in England and Wales. They are at Ashford in Kent; Deeside, Ebbw Vale; Gloucester, Newbury, Ramsgate and Salisbury, besides those already staffed by the FM firm at Bournemouth, Inverness, Llandudno, Penrith and Perth.
The contractor is providing clinical waste management, security services such as traffic management and lane support, plus cleaning and catering for all employees based at the centres. Mitie will have around 900 working across the seven sites. Opening dates for the sites were:
Beehive Park and Ride in Salisbury – 30 May
Hempstead Meadow in Gloucester – 5 June
Deeside Industrial Park in Deeside – 10 June
Victoria Road Car Park in Ashford, Kent – 12 June
Newbury Showground in Newbury – 14 June
Marine Colliery in Ebbw Vale – 30 June
Manston Airport in Ramsgate – 7 July
The FM firm is also delivering essential services at the Nightingale Hospital London, Ysbyty Calon y Ddraig, or Dragon’s Heart Hospital, in Cardiff; and the NHS Seacole Centre, at Headley Court Surrey. Simon Venn, Chief Government and Strategy Officer at Mitie, pictured, said: “With testing at the centre of the government’s strategy to bring the UK out of lockdown, it’s a privilege to be opening more sites to support this important task. The rapid turnaround to get these centres up and running demonstrates the amazing things that can be achieved when public and private sector work together in a truly collaborative manner. We are so proud of all our frontline heroes who have worked hard to make this happen.”
In England and Wales, the NHS free testing service is available to all; in Scotland and Northern Ireland, to those aged five and over. Anyone with symptoms can book or order a test at https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
