New COVID-19 testing clinic to open north of Port Stephens, in Tea Gardens

Medtech Services and its laboratory partner 4Cyte Pathology will operate a drive-through clinic on September 9 from 8am to 12pm in the carpark of the Tea Gardens Country Club, at 2 Yalinbah Street.

Nick Burns, from Medtech Services, said that the clinic would be ongoing if there was a community demand.

"We will start with September 9 and look at perhaps expanding the service to a couple of mornings per week," he said.

"We're a local family pathology practice based out of Wallsend for more than 40 years, so in keeping with our ethos and focus on patient care and serving our local community, it makes perfect sense for us to respond to the need for testing in and around the Tea Gardens area.

"This community is demographically the oldest people group in Australia, and with the community being very tight knit, and at the same time a popular holiday/getaway destination, there's understandable nervousness in travelling into another area with active cases in order to be tested."

Testing will be online appointment only with bookings to open on Tuesday: medtechservices.net.au/covid19-tea-gardens.

Mr Burns said that the clinic was established in response to the urging of Port Stephens MP Kate Washington.

"Creating a testing clinic for the folk of Tea Gardens just feels like one big 'house call' for us - it's just what we have always done for patients," he said.

"We're acutely aware of the need for reliable testing turnaround times for results. We know how important this is for those needing to access their medical treatments, and also clearance testing for patients to return to work, etc."

Last week MedTech partnered with 4Cyte Pathology to open up a drive-through testing clinic in the carpark of an Anna Bay church off Nelson Bay Road.

Ms Washington said she was delighted that MedTech has responded to her calls for a testing clinic to meet the needs of those residents living north of Port Stephens.

Medtech and 4Cyte Pathology established the Hunter region's first private no-referral drive-through in mid-2020, and from the very start of the pandemic has continued with important services such as home visit COVID-19 testing for the infirmed.

"Our local team have been a big part of that, doing much of the pre-analytical specimen processing. We're able to get results back to patients very quickly, and avoid long waiting times - even during peak periods of demand," Mr Burns said.

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