An NHS hospital trust has apologised for not providing “robust signage” towards its coronavirus isolation unit after a woman who feared she had the infection was unable to find the facility, and instead wandered into the oncology department.

The woman, who had developed flu-like symptoms after visiting Singapore and Hong Kong, was advised by a microbiology doctor through the NHS 111 service to self-refer at James Cook University hospital in Middlesbrough, where “pods” designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus had been established.

However, she was forced – along with her husband and their son – to visit one department after another within the hospital to ask for its whereabouts, and rather than being offered practical assistance they were simply met with alarm, the family said.

After arriving, they followed two signs from the ambulance bay which read “NHS111 Coronavirus” with an arrow pointing up. But then there were no further such notices.

“Nobody had been told about a place for coronavirus,” the family said. “We had been told we should go to the ambulance bay and that there would be a sign for coronavirus, but the sign did not lead to a door.”

The family were told to leave A&E and after visiting several other departments, including the oncology department and staff office, they were eventually directed to an area outside the main reception.

“We went to the general outpatient reception to be met with alarm but no practice assistance. After visiting another clinic reception we were advised to cross the road and try the staff office.”

Viewing that advice as pointless, the family went to the main entrance instead. The woman’s husband said: “The receptionist enquired and we were told that there was a ‘pod’ outside the building to the left. Try as we might we couldn’t find it and I re-entered the main building to ask for help. We were then directed by a member of reception staff to a door further down the building.”

After coming into close contact with a number of staff members the family then rang 111 again after they reached the isolation unit upon the instructions advertised there.

But they were placed on hold owing to the high volume of calls and were made to wait in a “freezing and dirty” makeshift facility until a nurse attended after the husband visited reception again.

“It was an utterly disorganised farce,” the husband said, adding that they were informed that the test showed they did not have coronavirus, after contacting Public Health England following days of remaining quarantined at home.

The hospital apologised to the family in a letter in which it admitted staff had not been adequately briefed, and added that NHS England had given hospitals a tight deadline to ensure the isolation pods were in place on sites.

“As the national and international picture evolved quickly, this was also associated with some changes in the definition of what the area would be used for which I believe led to the posters having some confusing wording and instructions,” a hospital spokesperson said.

“The production of robust signage obviously takes a few days and we were aware that the signage was not optimum however, what we failed to do was ensure that staff at all potential entrances to the hospital were briefed in how to direct people to the assessment area around the perimeter of the hospital.”

Staff have now been advised where to direct members of the public, while the posters have been reworded.

The incident comes after the first person in London diagnosed with coronavirus – which has now killed about 1,700 people worldwide – arrived at a hospital in a taxi unannounced, leading two staff to be placed in isolation.