A SUSPECTED coronavirus patient has blasted the NHS after he was wrongly told to go to a hospital packed with sick people.
Paul Godfrey, from Walsall, West Mids, started to develop flu-like symptoms after returning home from Milan, Italy, on Friday.
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He called NHS 111 and claims the operator made him an appointment at a nearby hospital.
When he arrived he sat in an a waiting area “for 10 minutes” among other sick members of the public before panicked medics swooped.
Official guidelines state that anyone suspected of having Covid-19 should self-isolate immediately and avoid contact with others.
However, Mr Godfrey says he was given contradictory advice by 111 call handlers.
‘You shouldn’t be here’
He contacted the NHS non-emergency line on Saturday to say he had recently returned from Milan with flu-like symptoms.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain today, he said: “They told me that Milan wasn’t on the target list and I shouldn’t be concerned but they said I should go to hospital anyway.
“So they made an appointment for me to go to the treatment centre at Walsall Manor Hospital and my appointment was for 10.30am on Monday.
“When I arrived there I was went into the reception area, registered as normal and the told me to sit down in a foyer that was full of ill people waiting to be seen.
They panicked, they gave me a face mask in the foyer where everybody else was looking around in shock
Paul Godfrey
“I sat there for about 10 minutes and then I was called in to a foyer and said, ‘You shouldn’t be here’.
“I said I’m only following guidelines from 111 who have given me clear instruction and appointment to attend this specific location.
“They panicked, they gave me a face mask in the foyer where everybody else was looking around in shock.
“They said we haven’t got a cubicle for you, we’ll have to find one.
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“When they found a cubicle they said they’d have to talk to me via phone link until they could get things sorted.
“I spoke to the nurse over the phone and she came to me dressed in full hazard gear.
“She proceeded to take my temperature, my blood pressure and microbiology said that because at the time Milan wasn’t at the at risk register there was no need to swab me.
“Providing my temperature wasn’t 39C I should go home and carry on with my normal day.”
Pod testing
Mr Godfrey said he went to Guildford for a meeting on Tuesday but was “still feeling under the weather”.
He received a phone call on his way back and was told he needed to return to Walsall to be re-tested.
“I got there at 4.30pm, they told me to drive into the accident and emergency area and stay by my car.
“I then had to phone a number where nurses would come out to me.
DEADLY SPREAD: Coronavirus cases in the UK
ANOTHER two cases of coronavirus have today been confirmed in the UK – barely a month since the deadly bug first reached our shores.
The first cases were diagnosed on January 31 when a student and relative were tested positive in York.
The victims were quarantined in Newcastle as UK authorities vowed they would control the virus’ spread.
However, by February 6 another patient was diagnosed with coronavirus.
The Brit – businessman Steve Walsh – contracted the bug in Singapore before travelling to the French Alps for a holiday before returning to his home in Hove, East Sussex.
He became known as a superspreader by unwittingly infecting a number of other Brits in France with him.
Mr Walsh, who since recovered, then infected another five people who were treated in the UK.
By February, another patient was taken to Guy’s and St Thomas’ after contracting coronavirus in China – bringing the total to nine.
Another four cases were recorded just a week later after being flown back to the UK from the plague cruise ship, the Diamond Princess.
The group had been quarantined in Arrowe Park but were quickly moved to a treatment centre.
And now today, Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty confirmed another two patients had tested positive.
The virus was passed on in Italy and Tenerife and the patients have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres in Royal Liverpool Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital, London.
“I went to get out the car as soon as I saw the nurses but they went ‘no, no you don’t get out the car, you need to put a face mask on’.
“They then told me to get into this pod where they did mouth and nose swabs and then told me to get back into the car and go home.”
He said that he was told he’d get an update about whether he had coronavirus within 48 hours – so is expecting to find out today.
‘Totally wrong’
Mr Godfrey added that he received a call yesterday confirming that he had flu but they were still trying to determine the strain.
He said: “The information that the government is giving to say that they are controlling the situation is totally wrong.
“It’s not been followed down to hospitals to follow the right procedures.
I could have spread and infected hundreds of people potentially by not being dealt with
Paul Godfrey
“I went into an area that I was told to go that was full of sick people, which are probably the most vulnerable when you have a coronavirus.
“I could have spread and infected hundreds of people potentially by not being dealt with from a point where I was concerned.”
Mr Godfrey said that he wasn’t tested when he landed back at Luton.
He said: “There’s not tests – this pandemic is going to carry on because the government are supporting us.”
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Worryingly, he also revealed that despite isolating himself at home, he also shares his house with four other people – including a pensioner.
“I’ve got a 74-year-old mother-in-law that lives with me, two lads 24 and 26 and my wife,” he said.
He said that he was told by 111 that his family should go about their normal business.
But after they told their employees they were sent home from work.
Two more cases
It comes as two more people have tested positive for coronavirus in England, the Department of Health said.
The patients have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres after contracting the virus in Italy and Tenerife, according to England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty.
The new cases bring the total number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 in the UK to 15.
Authorities in Italy have reported that the number of people infected in the country grew to 447 and 12 people have died, while Denmark reported its first case.
And 168 Britons have been told to isolate themselves at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife.
Prof Whitty said: “Two further patients in England have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of UK cases to 15.
“The virus was passed on in Italy and Tenerife and the patients have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres in Royal Liverpool Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital, London.”
Infected ‘parent’
One of the cases is likely to be a parent from Burbage Primary School in Buxton, Derbyshire, which says it has had a confirmed case.
Parents were told the school would be closed on Thursday due to a “confirmed case of coronavirus amongst our parent population”.
The school, which has 350 pupils, sent a message to parents via WhatsApp on Wednesday night saying the decision had been taken as a “precautionary measure and to enable a deep clean to be completed”.
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Buxton Medical Practice in Derbyshire urged people not to go to the practice on Thursday due to a confirmed case of coronavirus.
In a message to patients, a spokesman said: “We have a confirmed case of the coronavirus.
“We are liaising with Public Health England and the Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure all appropriate actions are taken.
“Please do not come to the practice.”
School closures
Across the UK, at least eight schools have closed while others – including Prince George’s – have sent pupils home amid fears they may have been exposed to coronavirus during half-term trips to northern Italy.
But Public Health England (PHE) said that its general advice is not to close schools – a message echoed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Travellers returning to the UK from northern Italy were told they may need to self-isolate as part of measures to stop the spread of illness.
The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to 10 towns in Lombardy (Codogno, Castiglione d’Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano) and one in Veneto (Vo’Euganeo).
And officials denied there were any plans to evacuate the Britons at the hotel in Tenerife, instead arranging for written messages to be put under the doors of the rooms of British guests asking them to get in contact.
So far in the UK more than 7,000 people have been tested for the virus and of the 15 to have tested positive, eight have so far been discharged from hospital.
In China, where the virus originated, has reported a total of 78,497 cases, including 2,744 deaths. Outside China, there were 3,651, cases including 50 deaths.
After Brazil confirmed Latin America’s first case on Wednesday, the virus has reached every continent except Antarctica.
