Government asked to step in over Covid-19 test chaos in Shropshire
The government has been asked to step in and sort out the chaos with coronavirus testing in the county.
Telford & Wrekin Council's leader Shaun Davies has written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock over concerns about the situation county residents have faced trying to access coronavirus tests over the last few days.
A regional Test and Trace site, run by the NHS at Ironbridge has seen a catalogue of issues, with the centre closed while people queued to get in on Tuesday evening after it ran out of tests.
Other issues have included local people being offered test appointments in Scotland, Wales, and Oldham, instead of at the Ironbridge site.
Cllr Davies said: “If the situation in the borough this week with Test and Trace weren’t so deadly serious it would be farcical. But it’s not, it’s reality.
“It needs resolving now before public confidence in Test and Trace, the key weapon in containing the virus, drains away completely.
“Huge amounts of money have been poured into NHS Test and Trace but still we see a system failing to cope at time when a surge in demand was entirely predictable.
“I urge the Health Secretary – make this your top priority and put this right before it’s too late.
“We worked hard to provide this facility to the NHS so that it could support local people but sadly it seems this is just not happening.”
Campaigns manager Steve Hyndside, from Stroud, said he travelled more than two hours - while on holiday in Mid Wales - to the coronavirus test centre near Ironbridge, but was told it had run out of tests and closed after he arrived five minutes early.
There were reports of traffic queues and chaotic scenes at the centre, in Jiggers Bank at around 6pm yesterday, resulting in the site being shut by police.
Broadcast journalist Piers Morgan responded by describing the testing process as "appalling".
