Transparency data

Reasons for getting a COVID-19 test: survey of regional and local testing sites between 1 and 4 September

Published 1 October 2020

Applies to England

Issue

On 9 September, the Secretary of State for Health and Social care quoted an estimate of 25% of those being tested as being ineligible. This figure was calculated using the below indicative survey, by adding the responses for those who stated their main reason for being tested was ‘I have been in contact with a person who is symptomatic’ and ‘other’^{[footnote 1]}. These account for 27% of the responses.

Survey overview

The survey was conducted to improve the understanding of their reasons for getting tested. The findings are not statistically representative of all individuals taking a test but are indicative and intended to give a sense of scale. Response rate was not recorded.

Background

6,307 (27%) out of 23,677 people who responded to a short survey conducted at 25 regional and local testing sites across the UK stated the main reason for getting tested was either ‘I have been in contact with a person who is symptomatic’ or ‘other’^{[footnote 1]}.

These reasons do not make someone eligible for COVID-19 testing under current guidelines.

Table 1: respondents stated main reason for getting tested

Reason for test	Number of responses	Percentage of responses (%)
I have coronavirus symptoms	11,254	48
I’ve been invited to take part in a pilot (for instance visiting professionals to care homes)	179	1
I’ve been told to have a test before I go into hospital	621	3
I’m an essential worker	2,252	10
I’ve been asked to take a test by a contact tracer	667	3
I do not have symptoms, but have been advised to get a test	1,560	7
I have been in contact with a person who is symptomatic	4,079	17
I have been told to have a test by my school	836	4
Other[footnote 1]	2,229	9
Total	23,677	100

Table 2: breakdown for respondents answering ‘other’ in the survey

Breakdown of ‘other’	Number of responses	Percentage of respondents answering ‘other’ (%)
I am curious, confirming previous results or get tested regularly	433	19
I am a resident of a care home and have been advised to get weekly testing	1	0
I will be travelling in the near future or have just returned from abroad	513	23
There is no specific reason recorded	1,006	45
My workplace has requested that I take a test	276	12
Total	2,229	100

Methodology

The survey was conducted at 25 regional and local test sites between 1 and 4 September. On 1 September, there were 72 regional testing sites and 53 local testing sites in operation, and therefore the findings of this survey may not be representative of the reasons people were getting a test at all sites across the UK. There may also be variations at different times of the week.

Regional and local test sites account for around 29% of pillar 2 test sites. The main other channels for pillar 2 community testing are mobile test units (17%), home testing (16%) and satellite test centres (which include care homes) (38%), which were not surveyed.^{[footnote 2]}

The sample of participants in this survey was self-selecting, and therefore may not be representative of everyone getting tested. Response rate was not systematically recorded, and there may be a bias in who chose to respond to the survey.

1. Some of those who selected ‘other’ may in fact have been eligible. The individual who answered ‘I am a resident of a care home and have been advised to get weekly testing’ has been removed as this is an eligible reason. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Data taken from these statistics. ↩