Government to offer testing for “everyone who needs one” in social care settings
Date published: 15 April 2020
The Health Secretary has confirmed that every social care worker who needs a test can now get one
All care home residents and social care staff with COVID-19 symptoms will be tested as capacity is built up, the government is announcing today.
Currently the first five symptomatic residents in a care home setting are tested to provide confirmation of whether if there is an outbreak,
However, as lab capacity increases every day the government is expanding testing to include all care home residents who develop symptoms.
Testing will now also be provided to all potential care home residents before they are discharged from hospital.
This will provide reassurance and peace of mind to residents and family members, and will help care providers to take appropriate action to ensure that social care workers and other residents are safe - including implementing isolation procedures for those who test positive.
Mr Burnham said: “The distress signals coming out of our social care system are deeply worrying.
"We urgently need Government to provide a stronger support package for social care: more testing, more help with staffing, increased funding and crucially more protective equipment.
“There are widespread and persistent calls from within the social care system for urgent action.
"People on the frontline are saying they feel under-prepared, under-resourced, and forgotten."
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock said:
“I am deeply conscious that people in residential care are among the most vulnerable to coronavirus. We are doing everything we can to keep workers, residents and their families safe, and I am determined to ensure that everyone who needs a coronavirus test should be able to have access to one.
“We have already begun testing social care workers and will roll this out nationwide over the coming days. And as we continue to ramp up our testing programme, we will test all current care home residents with coronavirus symptoms and all new care home residents who are discharged from hospital into care.
“Testing is key in our battle against coronavirus, and as part of our plan to prevent the spread and save lives we will ensure that everyone in social care who needs a test can have a test.”
As the rollout continues the Health Secretary has confirmed that every social care worker who needs a test can now get one.
Dedicated testing has already begun for frontline staff, including social care workers and in addition to over 20,000 tests for NHS workers and their families.
As capacity grows further through the government’s new mega labs, it will prioritise the testing of symptomatic social care workers and anyone in their household who have COVID-19 symptoms.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) are leading coordination of testing for the care sector, and have already offered 6000 care facilities the opportunity to test their staff. By the end of the week they will have contacted all 30,000 care providers.
Care providers will identify workers eligible for testing and refer them to their local testing centre.
Tests for social care staff and residents will support the government to achieve its ambition of 100,000 COVID-19 tests a day by end of April.
Greater Manchester is still not in a position where it is receiving regular consignments of PPE for adult social care. The Government’s new system – the ‘Clipper system’ - is not expected to be operational for social care for at least two weeks.
"The Government needs to ensure that the delivery of PPE to all social care settings is much more predictable to avoid shortages and care homes running out entirely.
“But testing is also crucial for staff and residents in our care homes to minimise the risk of spread of the virus.
"This needs to be urgently made available for everyone involved in social care.
"The Government should also look at the volunteer database and those who have returned to work in the NHS to see if additional staff can be made available to support those working in social care.
“There are real pressures on our care system, and it needs to receive increased funding and to be treated on a par with the National Health Service to help us get through this.
"The hundreds of thousands of residents in care homes across the UK, and the dedicated staff who support them, should not be left to feel like an afterthought.”
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