Covid testing appointments resume in Telford after ‘shambles’
Appointments have resumed at Telford’s coronavirus assessment centre after it was overwhelmed by people from across the country due to a computer error.
Traffic jams affected roads leading to the site off the A4169 Jiggers Bank near Ironbridge on Tuesday evening when the centre was closed after running out of testing kits.
Furious families took to social media to complain about the system which a dad described as “utterly shambolic” after he undertook a fruitless two-hour car journey with his poorly young children.
Broadcast journalist Piers Morgan responded by describing the testing process as “appalling”. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there had been a surge in people seeking “inappropriate” coronavirus tests when they do not have symptoms of Covid-19.
“We were on holiday and I drove for more than two hours from Mid Wales with my sons Aaron and Ellis for an appointment for 6.30pm to 7pm only to be met with complete confusion and chaos.”
He added: “It is a sign of how awful the system is. It is utterly shambolic.”
Sales executive Edward James, 32, of Mortimer Place, Ludlow, said: “We had a 7pm appointment for our two-year-old son Jamie, but when we got near there was a queue of traffic all the way up Jiggers Bank with police diverting traffic. The staff just told us to drive on.
“What annoyed me most of all was that they wouldn’t give us a reason for the closure.”
Mr James added that another disappointed man told him he had driven from Leicestershire to Telford at a cost of £80.
College worker Grace Griffin, 29, of Claverley Close, Shrewsbury, said: “I want to make the point that if I hadn’t been persistent in getting an appointment for my three-year-old son at Telford we wouldn’t have even got it.
Shocked
“Initially the online site pointed me to Aberdeen when my son woke up unwell at 5.15am yesterday.
“When my husband phoned 111 he was told there were none available at all in the UK. Eventually we got a 1pm appointment.
“The system is in a mess and the Government guidance is unclear.”
Telford MP Lucy Allan said she was shocked to hear that the centre had be closed after staff ran out of test kits.
She posted on Twitter: “I am working with local partners, @PHE_uk and ministers. Will keep residents updated.”
Meanwhile, people in Shropshire say they have been asked to travel to Aberdeen and Inverness, in Scotland; Wallasey, in Merseyside; Oldham in Greater Manchester; Leicester and Builth Wells.
Telford & Wrekin Council has new proposals to set up up to six new assessment centres so that residents without cars can get easy access to testing.
