Stokies sent to the Oldham and Glasgow coronavirus samples instead of bet365 Stadium
At the Stoke-on-Trent research centre, citizens of North Staffordshire are refused Covid-19 swabs-and instead are sent miles away to hot coronavirus spots like Oldham, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
They fall victim to the national laboratory capacity shortage that appears to have cut back appointments at bet365 Stadium in recent days.
It comes as hundreds of people in North Staffordshire test positive for coronavirus every day and Stoke-on-Trent remains on the Covid-19 watchlist from the Government.
Currently, the City Council of Stoke-on-Trent is meeting to try to fix the ongoing crisis.
Part of the issue is known to be related to increases in other parts of the UK that are now benefiting from expanded testing capability at the cost of different regions.
StokeonTrentLive readers have mentioned how they’ve spent hours on the phone or trying to get a test online.
Tests were provided instead of Trentham Reservoirs, in Oldham, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Cardiff, Stockport, Manchester, Llandudno, Telford and London.
Labour chief Charlotte Atkins, of the Staffordshire County Council, is currently helping a Biddulph woman who struggles to secure a local exam.
She wants a test for her boy, and in Oldham was given a test-next week. In a letter to the Health Secretary, Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader Abi Brown has expressed her concerns.
The Government aims to complete 500,000 tests a day by the end of October. No-one is supposed to have to fly more than 75 miles for an exam.
Part of the demand has been blamed on people applying for testing despite having no symptoms.
The NHS Test and Trace work, the capability of the Department of Health and Social Care is the highest, and their laboratories conduct more than one million tests a week.
