Health bosses have admitted they sent a man with coronavirus symptoms to TWO closed testing centre.
Robbie Beale booked online to get a test for Covid-19, but ended up cycling 13 miles and visiting three different test centres across Manchester before he could finally self administer a test.
The student found testing centres on Denmark Road, in Moss Side, and at Belle Vue closed - despite having been sent there by government officials.
After more than three hours of travelling across the city, Robbie dropped into the centre at Ancoats and was finally able to get tested.
He said: “I cycled 13 miles and visited three test centres in three and a half hours just to self-administer one test.
“I dread to think what I would have done had my condition or situation been worse.”
A government department has now admitted that Robbie was mistakenly sent to a closed centre.
But they say the booking portal has since been adjusted and 'the issue resolved'.
The Department of Health and Social Care said the recently opened Local Testing Site at Denmark Road 'showed as available this weekend on the booking portal'.
“This site is only scheduled to be open Monday – Friday as it is a shared venue with the local community,” a spokesman said.
“The booking portal has now been adjusted to reflect this and the issue resolved.”
Robbie’s struggle to find an open testing centre comes after symptomatic Greater Manchester residents were offered appointments at test centres more than 80 miles away.
One Mancunian was even told the closest facility to him was in Llandudno, Wales.
Areas of the region - such as Oldham and Bolton - have among the highest infection rates in the country. The government insists areas with outbreaks are prioritised.
When Manchester resident Robbie booked a test using the online portal he said the system initially appeared straightforward.
But when the University of Manchester student arrived early for his 10.30am appointment at the Denmark Road Local Testing Site, in Moss Side, on Saturday (September 5).
“The main door was shuttered, and all the lights were off,” he said.
“I did a couple of loops of the block searching for any signs of life.
“With a minute to go until my scheduled appointment I tried the entrance to one of the sports grounds on the side of the complex but found only rubbish bins behind the strangely unlocked gate.”
Robbie says around 24 people arrived for tests in the time he was there.
“Many gave up and went home, and I do wonder whether they will bother with the hassle of isolating for another full day and booking a follow up appointment,” he said.
When he called 119 - the NHS phone number for testing queries - and spoke to an operator he was told to make his way to the nearest test centre at Belle Vue.
But when he arrived he found it was closed too.
“It wasn’t meant to open until 2pm on Sunday, though the security informed me it might not even be open by then as staff were being trained as we spoke - at about 12pm.”
Whilst there Robbie - who has since tested negative for the virus - says he met a pregnant woman who had taken a bus from Denmark Road to Belle Vue.
He says security guards gave her a fold out chair and told her it would be a two hour wait for a test.
Robbie then cycled to a testing centre in Ancoats, where he was finally able to get a test.
He says: “I made my way back home, knackered and incredibly angry.
“Throughout the day the only remotely official person that showed any concern for the situation was the 119 call operator, and she was unable to do anything about it.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said improvements are being made to the system of allocating regional testing slots “to ensure the distance limit does not go beyond 75 miles” and the number of testing sites will be increased to 500 by the end of October.
When there’s high demand for home testing, the booking portal is closed for short periods, they said.
A spokesperson said: “Hundreds of thousands of people are being tested every day and new booking slots and home testing kits are being made available daily.
“There is a high demand for tests and to help stop the spread of the virus 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.
“We have the capacity to test for coronavirus at an unprecedented scale. We are expanding capacity to 500,000 tests a day by the end of October, increasing the number of testing sites and bringing in new technology to process results faster.”
