Apr 2022
‘Living with Covid’ changes to visitor testing
The Government has published a ministerial statement to announce imminent changes to testing and infection prevention measures in care homes, as part of the ‘Living with Covid’ plan.
The Government has published a ministerial statement to announce imminent changes to testing and infection prevention measures in care homes, as part of the ‘Living with Covid’ plan. The detailed guidance for adult social care was only issued to care providers overnight and will come into effect on 4 April. We are currently working through this guidance to update our protocols.
These changes to testing are coming at a time when community rates of Covid-19 remain high, and employees and residents in some of our homes are testing positive. From 4 April, visitors who will be giving personal care (previously known as Essential Care Givers) and employees will be provided with LFD tests through their care home and will be required to test as per the new guidance (twice per week). The testing requirement for other visitors will cease from 4 April, however, we still recommend testing if you have your own supplies of LFD tests.
Until the new guidance comes into effect on 4 April, all visitors who have access to tests are asked to continue to test before they come into the home. Homes have limited stocks of LFD tests and may be able to provide these on a one-off basis to visitors who request them. Testing is still an important way to mitigate the risk of inadvertently bringing Covid-19 into a care home.
We also ask visitors to continue to participate in a wellness check, to have their temperature taken and to confirm that they are well. Any visitors with any obvious symptoms of being unwell, such as a cold symptoms, cough or high temperature will be asked to postpone their visit, even if they have a negative LFD test.
To summarise:
- Please take an LFD test before you visit a care home, or when you arrive (from 4 April this will be on a voluntary basis, except for visitors providing personal care to their loved one)
- Refrain from visiting if you feel unwell for any reason
- Continue to undertake a wellness check when you arrive in the care home
- Adhere to PPE and hand hygiene protocols including wearing face masks inside the care home
We will issue further information next week, once the detailed guidance has been reviewed, and teams have been briefed on the changes. In the meantime, please continue to be considerate and cooperative to all our employees. Whilst relaxing Covid-19 measures is welcome, we remain conscientious in our approach to infection prevention measures, as we all prioritise the care of our residents and your loved ones.