A man caring for his elderly mother says he has been unable to get a coronavirus test on the day Caerphilly borough is due to go into local lockdown despite displaying symptoms of the virus.
He claims he was turned away from both Caerphilly test centres and even referred to Telford, 70 miles away, when he tried to book online.
Keith Jones is the sole carer for his mum, who is in her late 80s, and said despite months of shielding and social distancing they may have symptoms of Covid-19.
But he was turned away from both Caerphilly testing centres on Tuesday and claims he was told there were no tests available until tomorrow.
Mr Jones' experience backs up concerns raised by GPs in Caerphilly, who warned of a shortage of coronavirus tests as people rushed to get symptoms checked on Tuesday.
Mr Jones, who lives with his mother, said: "Earlier today we both went to the Tredomen site at lunchtime and were told there were no tests available until tomorrow.
"We tried Caerphilly Leisure Centre to be told there were no tests available there - but we could try in an hour or even later.
"So we tried to book a test online and were offered a test in Telford, which is more than 70 miles away."
Mr Jones lives in Blackwood but had visited Caerphilly town centre several times in the last week.
He said he wanted to get a test done so he knew whether it was safe for him to go about his business.
After trying unsuccessfully to get a test done on Tuesday, he said he went back to Caerphilly Leisure Centre an hour later, only to be given the same message and turned away a second time.
He claimed he watched one or two cars being turned away every minute at both sites and said the Aneurin Bevan health board had "no idea of demand for testing locally".
The British Medical Association (BMA) said the queues at the pop-up test centre in the town were "horrific". Dr David Bailey, chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Wales and a GP in Caerphilly, said: "The queues at the pop-up centre in Caerphilly yesterday were horrific, although we understand people were all getting tested.
"The capacity seems to be struggling across the UK, and people being sent across the country is hardly helpful with keeping people local and staying socially distanced."
Mr Jones contacted Caerphilly Council noting his concerns, but received the following reply: "I can understand your frustration, but it is important to note that the testing facilities are provided and operated by Aneurin Bevan Health Board, not CCBC.
"These comments are best directed to our partners in the health board in the first instance."
Mr Jones said he could not understand why the two organisations are not "operating better together".
"Cases are going up and up and people need to know," he added.
A spokesman for the health board said that facilities on Tuesday were "extremely busy" and asked that only those people with symptoms and who live in Caerphilly should attend.
At 4pm on Tuesday, Mr Jones was contacted by the health board following his complaint and told he could access the temporary drive through testing centre in Ystrad Mynach as long as he had proof of address as living in Caerphilly.
