Care homes urged to use Infection Control Grant to buy antibody tests

A boss of a care home group in the south east of England is urging other care homes to use the Infection Control Grant to buy antibody tests saying “it helps to plan your care and keep residents and staff safe”.

A growing number of care homes are paying for antibody testing for their residents and staff as they have found the blood test alleviates anxiety and reveals who has been exposed to the virus.

Care homes have been on the frontline during the pandemic and according to the Office for National Statistics, more than 20,000 care home residents have died from the virus.

The test indicates whether a person has antibodies which are produced when the body becomes infected. A positive test does not mean a person is immune to coronavirus and scientists still don’t know if you can get the virus a second time.

Nonetheless Martin Barrett, managing director of Nellsar Care Homes, which has 13 care homes, is a firm advocate of antibody testing, saying: “People just want to know and it gives them reassurance. It gives them confidence and makes them feel safer. Their morale is greater and they feel they are being looked after.”

Nellsar Care Homes has paid to have IgG/IgM finger prick tests, supplied by Avonchem - a leading supplier of diagnostic test kits and chemicals, for all its staff and all of its residents.

The results revealed 17 per cent of its 850 staff had antibodies. Interestingly it was higher among residents with 27 per cent of their residents showing antibodies.

'There seems to be 100 per cent success rate'

“We had 48 positive tests and all these people with positive tests had antibodies so there seems to be a 100 per cent success rate as everyone who had a positive swab test for coronavirus has come up with having antibodies,” says Mr Barrett.

As well as implementing the antibody tests, the care home group carries out temperature checks on anyone who comes into the building.

“A lot of our residents have dementia so we had to ask their families whether we could carry out the antibody tests. Their families were keen for them to have them as they wanted to know and this will make them more confident in coming to see them. For morale purposes, people want to know. We have had the families asking where they can get these antibody tests.

“Any new admissions to our care homes and any new staff we are also carrying out antibody testing,” reveals Mr Barrett.

“For frontline workers this pandemic has been hugely challenging. We have taken on more activity people during this time and my staff team has remained almost completely intact.

“We are using money from the Infection Control Grant to pay for these tests and this is something that other care homes should be doing as it helps us to plan our care and keep residents and staff safe.

“With the residents not getting visitors through much of this time, we are the only family they have been seeing. It has been a challenging time as we have also had to lobby government and ensure we had enough PPE. We could have done with a lot more communication with the NHS and care homes. If we have a second wave we will be much better equipped to deal with it,” he adds.

The antibodies start to be highly detectable two weeks after you first have symptoms.

Antibody testing will help care homes prepare for the second wave

James Gray, managing director of Avonchem, believes there has been a lot of mixed messages regarding antibody tests and it has caused a lot of unnecessary confusion. He says: “It is not known yet if having a positive antibody confers immunity but it will tell you that it is likely you have had coronavirus. What we do know is that if you do get the virus again, the antibodies will know what to fight and therefore there is an assumed immunity.

“The reaction from our customers is hugely positive as it offers reassurance whilst costing under £10 per person. It can be performed in 15 minutes and works by taking a finger prick of blood.

“Nellsar is using money from the Infection Control Grant to fund these tests and this is something that other care homes could be doing to boost morale and give staff, residents and their families more confidence.”

Mr Gray also sees antibody testing being vital in helping care homes prepare for a second wave of the virus as it will tell how many employees and residents are likely to have had the virus.

The tests, which are manufactured by US firm CTK Biotech and cost less than £10, are approved by MHRA and CE marked. They must be administered by health professionals.

Back in May, Boris Johnson announced a £600m Infection Control Fund to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in care homes.

When it was announced, Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: “This new funding will be distributed to councils based on the number of care home beds in their area and will be passed on quickly to care providers. It will fund new measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in care homes, minimise infection, keep staff and residents safe and, ultimately, save lives.”

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