An Aberystwyth mum has slammed the Covid testing system as “not good enough”, after her family had to wait nine days for their results.

The mum-of-one, who did not wish to be named, said the delays “take a toll” on them, and she fears it will put people off getting tested, as they don’t want to wait that long for the results.

The mum and her family had to isolate after her partner, who is a volunteer firefighter, and seven-year-old daughter both displayed symptoms.

The pair were tested for Covid-19 on Monday, 12 October, at the Canolfan Rheidol testing centre in Aberystwyth. They were told to wait up to five days for the test results.

The mother called on the Friday to find out more about the results. She was told they had “escalated it” and that they would hear something within 24 hours.

She called back the following day, Saturday, and was told to phone back in three days. She called three days after, Tuesday, only to be told to “just do the self-isolation period”. The mother said it was therefore “pointless” having the tests and she assumed they had lost them.

However on Wednesday evening, the family did finally get the results, which were both negative.

“Up until yesterday we thought they had been lost," the mother said.

“It’s still not good enough, nine days waiting for test results when the turn-around time is usually 48 or 72 hours. We are relieved but it’s a government testing site, people shouldn’t have to be put through this.

“The toll it takes on people isn’t fair. Why advertise a service when you can’t deliver that service? You’re giving people false hope. It’s also going to lead to people not getting tested because they don’t want to wait for the results.”

Isolating has been “really tough” for the family: “It has had a massive impact. Mentally, it’s been horrendous, because each time the phone goes we think ‘is that the message?’”

The mum said that, after returning to school on Thursday, her daughter was “over the moon” to be back with her friends.

She added: “I don’t want it happening to somebody else, it isn’t fair."

She said she has been attempting to contact Public Health Wales to complain about the issues she faced, but she said they didn’t want to take her complaint and she was “passed around like a yo-yo”.

She has emailed the 119 complaints department and another address she was given on the phone, however she has had no response.

“I’m glad we’ve got these results, but I’m really annoyed. Nobody’s apologised or responded.”

Public Health Wales has been asked to comment.