Home care workers ‘wait more than a week’ for coronavirus test results
The head of home care has called for caregivers to be given priority when dealing with coronavirus tests, as some caregivers were found to be waiting more than a week for results.
Dr Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, said it would help maintain the capacity of the workforce amid the continuing pressures that are exacerbated by the spread of Omicron.
Examples provided by a national home care provider, which have been reported to the government, illustrate some of the problems staff have in obtaining PCR test results.
A staff member at Wimbledon, south London, who passed a PCR on December 23, was still awaiting the results on December 31.
Another social worker from Basingstoke, Hampshire, was asked to travel to Newbury, Berkshire for a walk-in PCR test, but found their local center was “completely silent” when he helped a client to be tested.
In North Cheshire, healthcare workers wait an average of seven days for PCR test results to be returned.
At one point, 12 personnel in that area were self-isolating while awaiting test results.
Dr Townson told the PA news agency that staffing issues vary by region, with areas such as London, Lancashire and southern Cumbria “really struggling” in recent weeks.
Some larger members, mainly providing services in England, told him about 6% of their staff are on leave with Covid-19 or in isolation – about double the usual absence rate.
I have repeatedly pointed out to the ministry – that it should not announce policies without it being possible to implement them in practice, as that creates another bunch of problems
Testing is “a big problem in the short term” and is “really essential” to keep things going safely, she added.
She told PA: “I think it’s very, very uneven, it’s, it’s very regional. So places like London – very problematic.
“Other places are getting confused, but staff shortages have been compounded by slow test turnaround times.
“So I have raised this on several occasions with the Department of Health and Social Affairs (DHSC) – they say that health and social service workers are supposed to be a priority in the recovery of PCR testing, but there is has test stories that don’t come back for five days, 10 days, seven days.
“And of course, all the time that the tests don’t come back, people can’t go back to work.
“And of course, the difficulty of getting lateral flow tests is problematic.
“So I have repeatedly pointed out to the ministry that it should not announce policies without it being possible to implement them in practice, because that creates another bunch of problems. “
DHSC has been approached for comment.