Ross-shire MP slams 'crazy' coronavirus testing as Lancashire councillor offered slot in Highland capital
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A ROSS-SHIRE MP has slammed the "crazy" system for coronavirus testing following a string of reports involving people in England being invited to take tests in the Highland capital – involving travelling up to 600 miles in some cases.
MP Jamie Stone made his remarks after a councillor in Blackburn was offered a test in Inverness.
Others have been invited to come to the Highland capital from Exeter and Dorset.
Stories of those with coronavirus symptoms having to travel hundreds of miles away from home to get a test have prompted the MP to raise his concerns direct with Prime Minister Boris Johnston.
Mr Stone said: “This seems crazy - clearly something has gone very wrong with testing.
"It cannot be right that people who are concerned that they might be showing Covid-19 symptoms are being offered tests so ludicrously far away from where they live.
"For instance, a friend of mine who lives in Devon has just told me she has been offered a test in Inverness.
"To make matters worse, a local care home in Inverness is already having to wait too long for results because the hospital can only take in so many tests in one day. Having people travel from across the country to take a test in this facility furthers the strain on local resources.
"It is desperate that people who could have the virus might be faced with return journeys like this. It is no good for their own health - and furthermore it does absolutely nothing to locally contain any potential virus. I had hoped that the Government might have learned something in the wake of the Dominic Cummings fiasco - but now I very much fear that this is not the case.
"I have today written to Boris Johnson alerting him to this pressing issue. I eagerly await his response.”
