Testing offer to all Fife care home staff after ‘misleading’ advice

Testing for Covid-19 will be offered to all Fife care home staff after criticism the region was not operating in line with national guidance.

A document issued to care home bosses by NHS Fife and Fife Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) stated only “prioritised staff” should be tested, in cases where sending staff home would result in an increased risk to patients.

The Scottish Government confirmed it was not in line with its policy that any care worker with symptoms should be tested through the NHS.

NHS Fife yesterday confirmed it would review the wording. NHS Fife’s director of public health Dona Milne said: “NHS Fife in conjunction with the Fife HSCP are in regular touch with all care homes in the kingdom to support their response to Covid-19, and have proactively encouraged participation

“

We are not aware of any care homes that have been denied access to testing for their staff

in the health and social care staff testing programme from this sector.

“Care home managers can put their staff forward for testing and we are not aware of any care homes that have been denied access to testing for their staff.

“In addition to testing symptomatic care home staff, all consenting staff and residents are offered testing in homes where Covid-19 is known to be present, regardless of whether or not they are displaying symptoms and this is supported by our mobile Covid-19 testing team.”

Ms Milne said Fife HSCP had set up a care home oversight group and a support team.

Mahri Edgar, who manages Glenburnie Care Home in Leven, described the mismatch between the advice given at local and national levels as “misleading”. She added: “We should not have to say that we have little or no resilience before getting testing done.”