diff --git a/.github/workflows/dendrite.yml b/.github/workflows/dendrite.yml
index 8221bff96..4f337a866 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dendrite.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dendrite.yml
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ jobs:
           key: ${{ runner.os }}-go${{ matrix.go }}-test-${{ hashFiles('**/go.sum') }}
           restore-keys: |
             ${{ runner.os }}-go${{ matrix.go }}-test-
-      - run: go test -p 1 ./...
+      - run: go test ./...
         env:
           POSTGRES_HOST: localhost
           POSTGRES_USER: postgres
diff --git a/test/db.go b/test/db.go
index 674fdf5c3..6412feaa6 100644
--- a/test/db.go
+++ b/test/db.go
@@ -15,12 +15,16 @@
 package test
 
 import (
+	"crypto/sha256"
 	"database/sql"
+	"encoding/hex"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"os/user"
 	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/lib/pq"
 )
 
 type DBType int
@@ -30,7 +34,7 @@ var DBTypePostgres DBType = 2
 
 var Quiet = false
 
-func createLocalDB(dbName string) string {
+func createLocalDB(dbName string) {
 	if !Quiet {
 		fmt.Println("Note: tests require a postgres install accessible to the current user")
 	}
@@ -43,7 +47,29 @@ func createLocalDB(dbName string) string {
 	if err != nil && !Quiet {
 		fmt.Println("createLocalDB returned error:", err)
 	}
-	return dbName
+}
+
+func createRemoteDB(t *testing.T, dbName, user, connStr string) {
+	db, err := sql.Open("postgres", connStr+" dbname=postgres")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to open postgres conn with connstr=%s : %s", connStr, err)
+	}
+	_, err = db.Exec(fmt.Sprintf(`CREATE DATABASE %s;`, dbName))
+	if err != nil {
+		pqErr, ok := err.(*pq.Error)
+		if !ok {
+			t.Fatalf("failed to CREATE DATABASE: %s", err)
+		}
+		// we ignore duplicate database error as we expect this
+		if pqErr.Code != "42P04" {
+			t.Fatalf("failed to CREATE DATABASE with code=%s msg=%s", pqErr.Code, pqErr.Message)
+		}
+	}
+	_, err = db.Exec(fmt.Sprintf(`GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE %s TO %s`, dbName, user))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to GRANT: %s", err)
+	}
+	_ = db.Close()
 }
 
 func currentUser() string {
@@ -64,6 +90,7 @@ func currentUser() string {
 // TODO: namespace for concurrent package tests
 func PrepareDBConnectionString(t *testing.T, dbType DBType) (connStr string, close func()) {
 	if dbType == DBTypeSQLite {
+		// this will be made in the current working directory which namespaces concurrent package runs correctly
 		dbname := "dendrite_test.db"
 		return fmt.Sprintf("file:%s", dbname), func() {
 			err := os.Remove(dbname)
@@ -79,13 +106,9 @@ func PrepareDBConnectionString(t *testing.T, dbType DBType) (connStr string, clo
 	if user == "" {
 		user = currentUser()
 	}
-	dbName := os.Getenv("POSTGRES_DB")
-	if dbName == "" {
-		dbName = createLocalDB("dendrite_test")
-	}
 	connStr = fmt.Sprintf(
-		"user=%s dbname=%s sslmode=disable",
-		user, dbName,
+		"user=%s sslmode=disable",
+		user,
 	)
 	// optional vars, used in CI
 	password := os.Getenv("POSTGRES_PASSWORD")
@@ -97,6 +120,25 @@ func PrepareDBConnectionString(t *testing.T, dbType DBType) (connStr string, clo
 		connStr += fmt.Sprintf(" host=%s", host)
 	}
 
+	// superuser database
+	postgresDB := os.Getenv("POSTGRES_DB")
+	// we cannot use 'dendrite_test' here else 2x concurrently running packages will try to use the same db.
+	// instead, hash the current working directory, snaffle the first 16 bytes and append that to dendrite_test
+	// and use that as the unique db name. We do this because packages are per-directory hence by hashing the
+	// working (test) directory we ensure we get a consistent hash and don't hash against concurrent packages.
+	wd, err := os.Getwd()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("cannot get working directory: %s", err)
+	}
+	hash := sha256.Sum256([]byte(wd))
+	dbName := fmt.Sprintf("dendrite_test_%s", hex.EncodeToString(hash[:16]))
+	if postgresDB == "" { // local server, use createdb
+		createLocalDB(dbName)
+	} else { // remote server, shell into the postgres user and CREATE DATABASE
+		createRemoteDB(t, dbName, user, connStr)
+	}
+	connStr += fmt.Sprintf(" dbname=%s", dbName)
+
 	return connStr, func() {
 		// Drop all tables on the database to get a fresh instance
 		db, err := sql.Open("postgres", connStr)