Care home testing is 'chaotic' and care sector needs 200,000 tests a day

Coronavirus testing in care homes has been summed up as ‘chaotic’ by the National Care Forum (NCF) representing care homes and it warns the care sector alone urgently needs 200,000 tests a day.

The National Care Forum (NCF) is calling for more tests to be made available to the care sector as a matter of urgency with 200,000 tests per day across the care sector ‘to get on top of this health pandemic’.

30,000 care home tests is ‘no way near enough’

Vic Rayner, executive director of the NCF said: “There are currently 30,000 tests available to care homes, which equates to 300 care home per day receiving tests. This is in no way near enough of the amount of tests required for the care sector.

“We need to see at least 200,000 routine and regular tests each day in the care sector alone. The speed and quality of the testing process is currently a postcode lottery and doesn’t appear to be based on need.

“Some of our members are being told they won’t be tested until 6 June which is much too late."

PMQs: PM promises 200,000 tests for whole country by 1 June

Health secretary Matt Hancock has been criticised for failing to deliver 100,000 tests a day, when double this number is needed for the care sector alone.

During Prime Minister's Question time (PMQs) on 20 May, Labour leader Keir Starmer asked Boris Johnson whether people were being tested in care homes.

He told Mr Johnson that Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, representing England's care homes, had told the Health and Social Care committee that routine testing hadn't started in care homes.

At that point, the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle began scolding Health Secretary Matt Hancock for speaking over Mr Starmer.

The Speaker asked Mr Hancock "Do you want to leave the chamber? "I don't mind you advising the prime minister, but you don't need to advise the opposition."

In response to Mr Starmer's question about routine testing in care homes, Mr Johnson said 125,000 care home staff have been tested and the government was "absolutely confident" it would be able to increase testing in care homes.

Mr Johnson said: "And thanks to the hard work of [Health Secretary Matt Hancock] and his teams, we will get up to 200,000 tests in the country by the end of this month."

Delayed test results and faulty tests

As well as 200,000 tests for the care sector, the NCF is also calling for speed and quality in test results.

A poll conducted by the NCF asked about testing in care homes that collectively support 16,240 residents and have 43,152 staff. It revealed 3,466 staff and 4,619 residents have been tested between 23 April and 14 May.

In a statement the NCF stated: ‘Despite the myriad of different testing routes available - at least six for staff and at least five for residents – many differ on a local level depending on how local teams interpret government guidance and their own local capacity for testing.

‘The testing arrangements remain chaotic, there is no reliable timescale for getting the test results and there are simply not enough tests prioritised for social care'.

The NCF has warned the government's announcement that everyone aged over five-years-old in the UK with COVID-19 symptoms can now be tested for coronavirus, 'will only make this testing chaos worse'.

The NCF has found even though the government announced all care staff can be tested, regardless of whether they are symptomatic, some care organisations have still said they can only test staff who have symptoms. The NCF poll revealed the speed at which test results are returned varies widely with the majority of testing routes for staff and residents being between 24 hours and six days. Results from home testing kits ranged from between 24 hours and four days.

However, a large number of test results are returning ‘void’ or ‘inconclusive’ owing to delays in obtaining results or faulty tests.

The NCF stated: 'In one of our care homes, 17 resident tests came back ‘void’ because of a faulty machine at the lab. This meant that all of those residents had to be re-tested, which was concerning."

Like what you read? For more news click here