Staff from NHS England have been asked to travel hundreds of miles to Scotland to be tested for coronavirus, according to reports.

Frontline workers in County Durham are being told to drive to Edinburgh or Peth to get tested for the virus.

Concerns have been raised by councillor Lucy Hovvels of the County Durham Health and Well-being Board, who has written to the Health Secretary.

She told Chronicle Live: "We have had complaints that local sites aren’t listed, when people from Durham and Darlington attempted to book an appointment, they have been given slots in Penrith, Harrogate, Edinburgh and Perth.

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"The booking site has fallen over halfway through the booking process so people have had to start again, people don’t know whether they have managed to book an appointment successfully on the site or not, and it is taking several hours to obtain a booking through the site."

Confusion has arisen due to the fact the army has recently set up testing stations in Bishop Auckland College and at Dalton Park in County Durham.

Ms Hovvels claimed confusion has caused a 75 per cent drop in the number of tests being carried out in the area.

She said issues had first been raised in April when the council was preparing for the first site to become operational.

In a letter to Matt Hancock, she said: “Initially, the military has sought to work around the booking problems by encouraging people to check eligibility and attend the sites without appointment, where they would be assisted to register on the spot by obtaining the necessary OR code.

“This failed at Dalton Park 3-5 May and has failed again today at Bishop Auckland College because the national website has repeatedly fallen over, such it has proved impossible to register people on the site."

North Durham MP Kevan Jones has also written to Mr Hancock demanding action.

He said: "Our NHS and care staff who are in the frontline of fighting this virus deserve better.

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"The Prime Minister yesterday undertook to put capacity of 200,000 tests per day in place within the next month, but if the systems for people to access this 'capacity' do not work, then it is an entirely meaningless pledge.

"A robust testing system is urgently needed, and will become even more important if the projected changes to the current lockdown are implemented.

"The system is fundamentally flawed, and I expect that you will take urgent action to remedy the situation, so that my constituents can access the testing which is needed."