Elderly and disabled cared for at home denied coronavirus testing

All care workers who need a coronavirus test will receive one, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said but there is anger in the home care sector that people receiving care in their own homes will not be tested.

While care workers and all symptomatic residents in a care home will be tested, those reliant on care in their own homes will not, according to the government’s latest social care action plan (published 15 April).

'Makes no sense but is typical'

Dr Jane Townson chief executive of UKHCA (United Kingdom Homecare Association) tweeted: "After lobbying for weeks, @ukhca welcomes the announcement to make #COVID19 testing available for all careworkers and #carehome residentswith symptoms.

"Excluding #homecare clients makes no sense but is typical."

Health secretary Matt Hancock says the government still aims to conduct 100,000 tests a day.

There are 1.5m people working in the care workforce. Highlighting a coronavirus crisis caused by “still inadequate testing capacity”, Jane Townson said care workers were being made to jump through hoops to get tested.

Drive-though testing dilemma

A letter sent to a home care provider on the same day as the government’s testing announcement (15 April) revealed Southwark is offering testing slots for only six key workers across health and social care to be tested within a 30-minute window once a day.

And because the testing centre at Greenwich O2 is drive-through only, people can only be tested if they go by car.

The chief executive tweeted she was “not sure how many care workers own cars” especially in cities, to use the drive-through facilities.

Referring to testing for six health and social care workers a day, she tweeted that testing care workers “doesn’t scratch the surface”. “Need more lab testing & a more practical way of administering.”

In response, @dr_shibley tweeted “None of mum’s carers use cars. They haven’t been tested. They haven’t got effective PPE”.

After reading the letter, Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams (@Car_Abrahams) tweeted: “Oh dear, rhetoric and ambition meet the current reality - and remember there are 1.5 million people in the social care workforce”.

Care providers can refer ‘vulnerable’ people to NHS volunteers

The government has said it is looking to get some of its new NHS volunteers ‘to carry out appropriate tasks in social care’. This is as a result of an overwhelming number of people (750,000) signing up to be NHS Volunteer Responders, with similar schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Care providers can refer vulnerable individuals to the NHS Volunteer Responders COVID-19: Adult Social Care Action Plan 17 programme ‘for a check in and chat, to prevent against loneliness, or to help with fetching shopping and prescriptions’.

NHS volunteers can also 'support’ providers ‘with moving supplies or equipment between services’.

The government aims to attract 20,000 people into social care ‘over the next three months’ to relieve pressures in the care workforce. It will re-launch its national recruitment campaign to run across broadcast and social media.

Care minister Helen Whately said: “This virus has brought many challenges to the sector and today we are setting out how we will ensure care staff have all they need to do their jobs safely.

“We are keen to get as many people on the care frontline as possible which is why we’re launching a campaign to attract people to the sector to support the national effort. I urge former social workers, occupational therapists and nurses to return to the sector to join the fight to protect our most vulnerable.”