South Yorkshire dad told to travel 75 miles to Telford for coronavirus test

Ian Thompson, who lives in Barnsley, described how he had been trying to book a test today after his five-year-old daughter developed a cough and high temperature.

The first time he searched, the closest available centre came up as being in Oldham, which is more than 25 miles away by car.

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When he tried again, he was directed to Telford Ironbridge Park & Ride, 75.8 miles away, with the next closest centre being in Llandudno, Wales.

He says no walk-in centres were listed, only drive-through ones.

“I was stunned that there’s so much emphasis on the need to get tested and how easy it is to book a test yet when you actually try this is what you’re offered," said the 62-year-old operations director, who has seven children and two step-children, aged between five and 39.

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Mr Thompson told how he and his wife, who works in social care, are both key workers and it is not practical for them to travel so far to get tested.

"There’s a walk-in centre in Barnsley but it’s telling me that’s not available. I just don’t believe it,” he said.

"The way the booking system has been handled seems a bit haphazard to me. They need to make it easier to book a test closer to where you live.”

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Mr Thompson is not the only person in South Yorkshire to have been directed many miles away for a test.

After reports of people having to travel 20 miles for a test, Sheffield’s director of public health, Greg Fell, said there was capacity within the city and advised people to try again in a few hours if nothing came up locally.

The Department of Health and Social Care has said it is working to increase national testing capacity to 500,000 tests per day by the end of October.

It says test centres in areas at greater risk are being prioritised and booking slots are made available the evening before for morning appointments, and on the morning for afternoon appointments.

A spokesman for the department said: “NHS Test and Trace is working, our capacity is the highest it has ever been and our laboratories are processing more than a million tests a week.

“We are seeing a significant demand for tests but if you have symptoms we urge you to get tested. New booking slots and homes testing kits are made available daily and you can help protect yourself if you wash your hands, cover your face and make space.

“We are targeting testing capacity at the areas that need it most, including those where there is an outbreak, as well as prioritising at-risk groups and we recently announced new laboratory facilities and new technology to process results even faster.”