Care workers 'told to make 300-mile round trip to Sheffield for coronavirus testing'

Nadra Ahmed, who chairs the National Care Association, said the case highlighted the shortage of testing facilities for care workers across the country.

The Government has promised to make testing available for carers and care home residents displaying COVID-19 symptoms, which include a persistent cough and high temperature.

Minute's silence planned for key workers lost to coronavirus

But according to the National Care Forum, only around 17 drive-through testing sites have so far been set up around the country, meaning some workers would have to travel huge distances to be swabbed for the disease.

Speaking on Sky’s Sophie Ridge on Sunday show, Ms Ahmed criticised the Government's response to the coronavirus social care crisis.

“I think it has been reactive and very slow in coming. Even now, although the announcement has been made about testing, what we are being told is that somebody with a home in Norfolk is being told their nearest test centre is Sheffield,” she said.

Brilliant reason why a gazebo has been set up outside Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium

She added that the alleged lack of planning ‘doesn’t create confidence in our staff’.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said last Wednesday: “I am deeply conscious that people in residential care are among the most vulnerable to coronavirus. We are doing everything we can to keep workers, residents and their families safe, and I am determined to ensure that everyone who needs a coronavirus test should be able to have access to one.”