COVID-19: Home care workers now being offered weekly coronavirus tests

All home care workers looking after old and vulnerable people in their own homes are now being offered weekly coronavirus tests, the government has announced .

Those working for CQC registered providers will receive weekly PCR tests to administer at home, which will help identify more asymptomatic cases and protect care users who are more vulnerable to the virus.

All registered home care agencies will be contacted with details of how to apply for test kits for their care workers next week.

Home care agencies are responsible for ordering and distributing tests to all home care workers for them to conduct at home on a weekly basis, testing on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. This approach will maximise the capacity available in all laboratories.

A month’s worth of test kits will be delivered to care providers directly who can distribute tests to their staff using the same channels used to distribute PPE.

'Home care workers have not been able to access the same level of testing as their colleagues working in care homes'

Minister for Care, Helen Whately said: “Home care workers have been doing an incredible job throughout the pandemic, caring day in and day out and going the extra mile to keep people they care for safe from COVID.

“As our testing capacity continues to expand, I’m glad we’re able to take this next step and make regular testing available to homecare workers. Now, as well as having PPE, home care workers will be able to take a weekly test to check they don’t have Coronavirus.

“We now have the largest testing capacity in Europe, so we’re using this to protect those who are at greater risk if they catch COVID.”

The Local Government Association (LGA) has welcomed the news that all home care workers will be able to access the same level of testing as their "colleagues working in care homes."

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “This is a much needed and positive expansion of testing to carers working in people’s homes, which councils and care providers have long been calling for.

“Home care workers have not been able to access the same level of testing as their colleagues working in care homes, so this announcement should redress this balance. The further rollout of these tests to live-in carers and personal assistants also needs to happen as quickly as possible.

“We all need to do as much as we can to prevent the spread of coronavirus, particularly among our older and most vulnerable people, so this regular routine testing is a vital part of our defence."

’It will ensure greater protection to this vital, often unseen workforce’

Work is also currently being carried out to explore making the rapid 30-minute lateral flow tests, currently only conducted by dedicated trained personnel, available for self-administration at home. This would allow workers to quickly find out if they are COVID-19 positive and have to isolate.

Interim executive chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, Baroness Dido Harding said: “NHS Test and Trace has worked tirelessly to increase capacity for testing achieving its target of capacity for 500,000 tests by the end of October. This is testament to a huge amount of work up and down the country by unsung heroes in labs, distribution centres, test centres and manufacturing plants.

“I am delighted that this capacity means that we can now roll-out regular, weekly testing to our domiciliary care staff. This has long been a priority for us and it will ensure greater protection to this vital, often unseen workforce and the people they care for.”

The government has made £4.6 billion available to councils in England so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care, on top of a £1.1bn Infection Control Fund and free PPE supply for care homes and domiciliary care.

The expansion of testing to home care workers is the next phase in the government’s rollout of mass testing across the country. Nearly 35 million tests have now been processed in the UK since the service began and this week the government announced two new ‘mega labs’, which will add a further 600,000 to daily UK testing capacity in early 2021.