Care home staff in England to get three coronavirus tests a week, promises government

Care home staff in England are to receive two rapid tests a week as well as the weekly PCR test they already get, according to the government which has announced a £149m grant to support roll out of rapid testing.

Care home staff will be asked to take rapid tests twice a week, in addition to the weekly PCR test they have already been receiving. The plan has been accelerated in light of the new, more transmissible, strain of Covid-19. In the event of a positive test, all staff will additionally be tested daily for seven days.

The £149m grant will pay for care home providers to set up safe testing areas, provide staff training and contribute towards staff time spent on administering and receiving the tests.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock said: “We have worked throughout the pandemic to protect staff, and residents in care homes and we are boosting rapid testing in care homes, with a further 149 million pounds to support that effort.

“All those who work in care homes across England will receive two rapid tests a week, in addition to their weekly PCR test.”

Minister for Care, Helen Whately said: “Stopping staff movement in and between care settings is critical to minimise the risk of infection of COVID-19 and other viral illnesses. However if care homes need to use staff who work in multiple locations in order to maintain safe staffing levels, rapid tests will help to manage the increased risk related to employing staff who are working in multiple settings.”

The new strain transmits more easily than the previous variant but there is no evidence that it is more likely to cause severe disease or mortality.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, welcomed the announcement of extra funds, saying: "As community transmission increases, we recognise the need for care homes to provide additional testing for residents, staff and visitors.

“As such, we welcome the extra £149 million from government for care homes to address the additional responsibilities placed upon them in terms of testing. We hope that the money will come though as soon as possible in the new year and can dovetail with an increased roll out of a vaccine to residents and staff.”

Vic Rayner, executive director at the National Care Forum (NCF) – the leading member association for not-for-profit social care providers, called the extra funding “welcome news”, but added: “This announcement comes at a very difficult time for care homes and at the end of a long and challenging year.

"All staff in care homes will now need to have two rapid tests via lateral flow devices each week alongside the current weekly PCR testing – this is a tripling of the current staff testing regime which care homes are being asked to put into practice immediately with no notice. These additional commitments sit alongside major additional testing requirements around visiting, and the expectation that testing will be majorly ramped up during outbreaks."

NCF calls for care homes to receive rapid tests 'as a matter of urgency'

In addition she called it “an important acknowledgment by government of the very significant pressures that increasing the use of rapid LFD tests will bring to care homes who are already stretched to the limit with all the additional work that operating in a COVID-19 world has created.

“The government must now ensure that all care homes have their LFD tests in place as a matter of urgency, if care homes are to make the additional testing happen. At this moment, despite national roll out, we know that a number of care homes have yet to receive their LFD tests and this must be resolved immediately.”

Fiona Carragher, director of research and influencing at Alzheimer’s Society called the £149m funding an “essential lifeline” saying “regular testing for everyone in and around a care home, along with PPE and other preventative measures, is vital to limiting the spread of COVID-19 no matter what tier you’re in and this will allow more families to be finally reunited with their loved ones after such a tragic year.

“Around 70 per cent of care home residents live with dementia – they rely on physical contact from their families, not just for comfort but also for essential care-giving so it is wonderful to hear that care home residents are now receiving the vaccine.

"We are as concerned as everyone else at the increasing number of cases in recent days. The government must do all it can to keep care home residents not just safe from the virus, but crucially also linked to the outside world. This means vaccinating care home residents and those around them as quickly as possible."

The money will be distributed by local authorities

The money will be made available early in the New Year and will be distributed via local authorities. Allocations will also be announced soon.

The grant will cover the infrastructure costs of the expanded testing programme including setting up testing areas and resource costs including gaining consent for tests, supervising the use of PPE and swab tests and then processing and logging the results.

The new guidance for care homes is available here