'Selfish' patients who think they have coronavirus symptoms are walking in to crowded Urgent Care Centre in Milton Keynes

This week the centre has been so packed that people are facing a wait of five hours or more.

One visitor said: "I was there on Monday and it was standing room only. There were adults and children were coughing, sneezing all around me - it was a real hotbed of germs.

"It is so selfish of people to go there in the circumstances.

"I heard two people say they wanted to be tested for coronavirus because they were worried they had the symptoms... It was just so irresponsible of them to be there."

Government and NHS advice is to call 111 if you have symptoms and not go to A&E, a GP or a a walk-in urgent care centre.

A notice on Milton Keynes hospital website states: "Please be advised, if you are experiencing symptoms that are similar to those of the coronavirus you should not attend the hospital. Call NHS 111 or visit https://111.nhs.uk/service/covid-19 for advice."

A spokesperson for the CCG, which runs the Urgent Care Centre on the hospital site, said the centre was experiencing "unusually high" demand.

She added: "If anyone has any concerns that they are at risk of coronavirus they should stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with the flu and contact NHS111. Patients can call NHS111 or visit the NHS 111 online service which has created coronavirus pages that tell patients what they should do based on their particular circumstances."

Meanwhile the hospital said its services are running as usual and all scheduled appointments will continue as normal unless patients have been individually contacted and told otherwise.