Results for a third of care home staff Covid tests are not received
Council leader’s safety concerns
CARE home staff are not receiving results from Covid19 testing in around a third of cases, Portsmouth’s council leader has said in a letter to the prime minister.
Councillor Gerald VernonJackson said it was an ‘impossible situation for people to run care homes safely’ without timely and efficient results.
It comes as care homes told The News testing was so slow they only got results when it was nearly time to retest staff each week.
In a letter to Boris Johnson, Cllr Vernon-Jackson said: ‘I have been told today that 30 per cent of Covid-19 tests for care home staff in Portsmouth City Council care homes are not having a result sent back.
‘I was shocked by this, but was told that this situation is improving.
‘It is an impossible situation for people to run care homes safely and efficiently if they do not get the results of Covid-19 tests sent back accurately and in a timely way.
‘A 30 per cent failure rate in sending back test results is just not good enough.’
He said he was ‘extremely
worried’ about the situation and implored Mr Johnson to ensure Test and Trace was working well enough to stop unknowingly contagious staff passing on the infection.
He added: ‘If staff have to wait for test results that do not arrive, and cannot work until they do, the number of people who are available to work in care homes will be put under great stress.
‘This could lead to a disas
ter.’ It comes after The News revealed 25 patients who tested positive for Covid19 were discharged from Queen Alexandra Hospital into care homes at the start of the pandemic. Hundreds more were released into the community with no record of testing.
The hospital was following government guidance that changed on April 16 to then require testing.
As reported, the testing site for the general public at Tipner off the M275 was packed up overnight last week without Department of Health officials telling Portsmouth City Council. It was due to be moved to Southampton Airport.
Cllr Vernon-Jackson has now said the drive-through site will move to Northarbour Road, Cosham, near the South Central Ambulance Service station.
The Tipner site could only be used temporarily as it is needed to triage lorries heading to the port in the event of a no-deal Brexit causing tailbacks that would otherwise congest the M275 and M27.
Cllr Vernon-Jackson said: ‘When the government was looking for a testing centre for Hampshire we offered Tipner on the understanding we needed it back for October so we could get ready for Brexit.
‘They took it on that basis and they were (due) to operate until October 5 then to reopen at Southampton Airport on October 6.
‘They closed Tipner early without giving anybody warning.
‘We've now offered them, and they’ve accepted, a site in Cosham, so that we will have a testing centre in Cosham in a couple of weeks’ time.’
Queen Alexandra Hospital tests its own staff, while the University of Portsmouth offers a walk-in centre for staff, students and the community with booking required at nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.
Care homes test their own staff using governmentprovided kits.
A Department of Health and Social Care Spokesperson said: ‘NHS Test and Trace is processing tests at an unprecedented scale – on average over 225,000 a day over the last week – and turnaround times are improving.
‘We continue to prioritise care homes for repeat retesting, and any care home resident or member of staff with symptoms is able to immediately access a free test with more than 120,000 sent out every day.
‘Through our Adult Social Care Winter Plan, we are providing free PPE to care homes and have ring-fenced a further £546m for the Infection Control Fund to prevent infections – bringing the total to £1.1 billion.
‘This is on top of the additional £3.7 billion to councils to address pressures caused by the pandemic.’
‘It is an impossible situation for people to run care homes safely. Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson