A WORRIED mother who drove her sick child from Dungannon to Carrickfergus for a Covid-19 test was one of dozens of people affected after glitches in the booking system sent them to a "non-existent testing centre".
Potential coronavirus sufferers travelled from across Northern Ireland for pre-booked appointments at Carrickfergus Rugby Club car park on Saturday only to find a match in progress, with no testing taking place and no explanation.
People were still arriving yesterday - again with no testers to meet them at the site which was only used during the week.
Others were sent to a school that doesn't exist in the town and at least one person to a private family home.
East Antrim assembly member Stewart Dickson said he had received countless emails from distressed parents, key workers and "very sick" people left distressed by the disarray.
"It is a continuing disaster. People have been roaming around trying to find a non-existent test centre.
"One woman told me she drove from Dungannon with three children in the car only to find the test she had booked didn't exist. One of her children was sick on the journey and there was not test at the end of it."
The Alliance representative said he spent hours trying to make contact with the Public Health Agency (PHA), which is the `agent' for the tests booked through a London-based digital platform.
He said a PHA doctor finally returned his call on Saturday to apologise and a Circle testing company employee was sent to the site to explain to those continuing to arrive that they would not be screened.
However, testing slots were still being generated for Sunday - despite the centre still not being in place.
"It is more than an inconvenience," Mr Dickson said.
"People are booking tests because they are genuinely worried about their symptoms or they or their child has been exposed to someone with the virus. There are key workers who need to know as soon as possible if they have Covid so they can get back to work if they are clear."
He said that many people arriving at centres are unaware that, rather than having a sample taken by someone who is trained, they will be handed "over a bag as they drive through" and have to administer the test themselves.
"The only place a trained professional does the test is in A&E.
"It is a complete and utter screw-up when it comes to testing. Tomorrow (Monday) morning the PHA urgent needs to be speaking to London to make sure this doesn't happen again.
"I seems nobody is making sure the system is working in Northern Ireland. The PHA chose the option of buying into the national booking system, but the downside is no one here can fix it when it goes badly wrong.
"I am sufficiently concerned that I will be asking an urgent question of the Health Minister (Robin Swann) to come explain what happened."
