Hunter MPs call for more testing sites as people queue for hours at most clinics

Newcastle state MP Tim Crakanthorp said he had been told of people being turned away at multiple clinics and police being brought in to manage traffic.

He said public and private testing facilities were "run off their feet" and the NSW government needed to "provide the help that is desperately needed".

"Hunter New England Health and the private providers have been doing a wonderful job and the best they can, but it is clear that they need assistance," he said.

"I am now hearing from people who have been identified as contacts or have symptoms but have given up on trying to get a test, which is the last thing we want.

"The response from our community to get tested has been amazing, but has also overwhelmed our facilities.

"We want people to get tested but to enable that to happen they need to be able to access a test, and the NSW Government needs to step in to make this happen."

Cessnock MP Clayton Barr has also called for an extension of the operating hours of clinics in his electorate or the establishment of a third facility.

THE HUNTER LOCKDOWN

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said at Saturday's COVID-19 press conference that the government was exploring how it could expand testing in the Hunter.

"I've asked health to look at what other capacity we might have," he said, adding it was a "very big task" to churn out more tests given the resources required for the process.

"That involves somebody to take the test, somebody to take the sample itself to a pathology, it involves people actually running the test at the pathology lab and ... someone then sending the result back to the individuals.

"It is a very big task now that we're up over 100,000 [daily tests].

"There's no question it's putting pressure on not only on the NSW pathology but also the private laboratories we have engaged."

Mr Hazzard thanked the people of the Hunter for turning out in big numbers for testing.

"The time you're putting in up there, I appreciate it," he said.

"Please don't be put off by those queues."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: