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Original poster

Covid test reporting for secondary students

35 replies

Lidyigo · 24/03/2021 22:45

DS (11) is getting into the swing of doing his lateral flow Covid tests. All negative so far. We report the result to the school using something called Test Register, and then it links to the NHS page for registering the result with them too. That's a much more onerous process, and isn't particularly tailored to a school child. I went through multiple screens answering lots of questions then finally abandoned it when it asked for my child's phone number (not mine, my 11 year-old's). Surely it's not appropriate for them to be collecting children's direct contact details? If a parent's number would be acceptable instead then they need to make that much clearer in the blurb. But am I missing something?

OP posts:
ExponentiallyDepleted · 25/03/2021 07:16

But you'd know which one of you had submitted a positive test result if they contacted you for contact tracing.

Original poster
Lidyigo · 25/03/2021 07:12

@Africa2go

At the start it asks you if you're reporting a result for yourself or someone else. When you've answered their name & school etc, I then put my own telephone number and email address etc.
Yes, I suspect that's what most people will end up doing. However the instruction is very clear that you need to give the email address and phone number of the person who took the test, not the person completing the form. You can say the child doesn't have an email address, but if you say they don't have a mobile phone number you're told to call the helpline, which people are unlikely to bother with. I'm wary of putting my own phone number because that's directly against the instruction. It's not clear why they need the number, so entering mine could have unintended consequences. They say it's for contact tracing (even though that makes no sense for a negative test result) but if I were to get a text message about contact tracing I wouldn't know whether it was for me or my son. I experience a similar issue with 'paperless' hospital letters because our local hospital has my email/phone registered for both me and my son. They send texts/emails about appointments etc that don't make it clear who they're for. I click the link in the message and it takes me to a screen where I enter my own surname and DOB. If I don't find anything new, I then have to click on the link again and enter my son's details instead. I work in IT, so can cope with algorithmic gymnastics, but it must bamboozle a lot of people. The problem is caused by NHS system developers not taking parents fully into account when designing their workflows.
OP posts:
FlyingBurrito · 25/03/2021 07:11

The phone number for the test result?

They don't know or probably even care whose number it is as long as you get the result. They aren't going to be calling anyone, I think you're over thinking it tbh

ExponentiallyDepleted · 25/03/2021 07:08

Yes, set up a login in their name. I have one for my tests (do them on the same day as teen DCs) but sometimes log theirs for them because they are fed up with it all now, it takes longer to do theirs, I use their email addresses but my phone no as I can't remember theirs.

annaseal · 25/03/2021 07:02

You can create a login. Also at the very start choose you are reporting for someone else. You should then be able to provide your contact details

ImpatientAnn · 25/03/2021 06:59

Have you created an NHS login? If you do it stores all that personal information to make it much quicker to do the reporting.

noblegiraffe · 24/03/2021 23:12

I register my kid’s results with my number saying I’m reporting results for someone else.

Africa2go · 24/03/2021 23:12

At the start it asks you if you're reporting a result for yourself or someone else. When you've answered their name & school etc, I then put my own telephone number and email address etc.

Original poster
Lidyigo · 24/03/2021 23:09

@AnguaResurgam

You can stick in any valid telephone number.

If you don't have a mobile phone (at all, or that you're prepared to give out for this purpose) then it says you can report the result by phone

I know you can put any valid number, but it says it wants the number of the person being tested. And even if I understood the point of phoning them, there's no way I'm going to do that twice a week.

If the NHS are asking hundreds of thousands of parents to report Covid test results twice a week they need to make it simple.

OP posts:
AnguaResurgam · 24/03/2021 22:58

You can stick in any valid telephone number.

If you don't have a mobile phone (at all, or that you're prepared to give out for this purpose) then it says you can report the result by phone