Chesterfield mum 'stranded' as she can't get Covid test for sick daughter

A vulnerable Chesterfield mum has been left ‘stressed and anxious’ after being unable to book a Covid-19 test for her poorly daughter.
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Louise Hull-Bailey’s nine-year-old daughter Aimee, a pupil at Brimington Junior School, has been ill for two days and is suffering with a cough and high temperature.

Louise, 37, says no home tests are available and she has been told she cannot book a walk-in slot either.

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"I feel stranded,” she said. “We couldn’t get to a drive-in testing centre but there are apparently none of them available either.

Louise Hull-Bailey is worried that she cannot get a Covid test for her daughter Aimee.Louise Hull-Bailey is worried that she cannot get a Covid test for her daughter Aimee.
Louise Hull-Bailey is worried that she cannot get a Covid test for her daughter Aimee.

"Aimee went to school yesterday but she had tummy ache. Then this cough came from nowhere and she is really hot and burning up.

"I have asthma and diabetes so I really need to know if she has the virus or not and it is so stressful and anxious not being able to get a test.”

The head of NHS Test and Trace has apologised to those unable to book a test for coronavirus this week.

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Sarah-Jane Marsh said: ‘Can I please offer my heartfelt apologies to anyone who cannot get a Covid test at present.

"All of our testing sites have capacity, which is why they don’t look overcrowded, it’s our laboratory processing that is the critical pinch-point.

"We are doing all we can to expand quickly. ‘We have additional NHS, Lighthouse, University and Partner Labs all due to open-up imminently and we are also expanding the use of non-laboratory based tests.

“The testing team work on this 18 hours a day, seven days a week. ‘We recognise the country is depending on us."

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