Good uptake of rapid testing by NHS staff
NHS Forth Valley has told The Stirling Observer a good number of patient-facing staff have agreed to regular Covid tests.
The aim of the widespread introduction of rapid testing of staff is to reduce transmission of the virus.
The Scottish Government has asked Scotland’s health boards to roll out voluntary Lateral Flow Tests (LFTs) to all staff who have contact with patients.
In July the Scottish Government asked health boards to establish asymptomatic testing of staff in oncology, elderly care and mental health wards, with stays over three months.
Staff in care homes are also offered testing on a weekly basis.
In December the Scottish Government expanded its testing of healthcare workers. It asked health boards to offer testing to all patient-facing staff working in hospitals, Covid-19 assessment centres, the Scottish Ambulance Service, community and district nurses and all Covid-19 vaccinators.
The list also includes medical and nursing students, domestic staff, porters, volunteers, chaplains, healthcare scientists and bank staff.
A spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said: “We started to roll out the Covid-19 lateral flow testing to additional patient-facing staff at the end of December 2020 in line with national guidance and uptake so far has been good.
“The national criteria for LFD testing covers patient-facing staff in hospitals, Covid-19 assessment centre staff, vaccinators, community nurses and AHPs and patient-facing hospice staff.”
A Lateral Flow Test (LFT) is a nasal swab test which can be selfadministered by staff at home or in the workplace. The test kit comes with all the necessary instructions as to how to do the test.
Staff are being encouraged to do the test to try and detect Covid before symptoms appear and reduce the spread of the virus.