A FORMER NHS nurse has been left 'trapped' at a care home instead of being able to move closer to her husband, because her coronavirus test was lost.

Marion Branton, 77, has not been allowed to move from Norton Hall to Severn Heights nursing home, in Callow End, which is closer to her family home in Malvern, because her virus test was lost and therefore the authorities cannot be sure she doesn’t still have Covid.

Mrs Branton, who joined the NHS in 1964 and worked at hospitals in Worcester and Bromsgrove, moved into Norton Hall near Worcester before lockdown for a period of 'respite care', which should have lasted a couple of weeks.

However, some four months on, she is still there, unable to move as she needs to have proof of a negative Covid-19 test before she can move to a a different care home.

Her husband Michael Branton, aged 81, said: “I just want my wife to move to Severn Heights as soon as possible. We have been through so much as a family in the last few months - she deserves a quiet life”

Daughter Anna Branton, 52, said: “Mum needs to test negative, which I understand, before making the move to Severn Heights. I have communicated with Norton Hall and it’s not their fault the test has been lost as they’ve done everything they should’ve done.

“My Mum has Parkinson’s and dementia so it’s not possible to take her to a testing facility and the testing shouldn’t have had to have been done more than once.

“She went into Norton Hall at the start of lockdown and contracted Covid-19 and made a full recovery and the staff there have been brilliant.

“Mum has given her life to to helping others and when it’s her turn to need help, she’s not getting it.”

A spokesman for Norton Hall care home near Worcester, confirmed that Mrs Branton’s test result did get lost once they submitted it and was somehow sent to Worcestershire Royal Hospital, instead of the Public Health England laboratory based at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital.

Shelly Andon, operations director for Severn Heights, said: “We had previously tested our staff and residents as part of our routine testing and for some reason, we had swabs going missing in the post as well as Norton Hall.

“In a batch of 70 we sent for staff and patients for routine testing, seven disappeared - these people have since been retested and were found to be negative.

“Mr Branton wants his wife moved to this home and it’s dreadful that Mrs Branton’s test has been lost - I really sympathise.

“We feel let down by the whole testing system and it worries me.”

Mrs Branton is awaiting the results of a test taken on Monday, July 13, and, if negative, she will be allowed to move to Severn Heights nursing home.

It is understood Worcestershire County Council is looking into the matter and a spokesman said: “We cannot comment directly on matters relating to an individual. There are various COVID-19 testing pathways available and you would need to contact the home directly with any further questions.”