Symptomatic COVID testing in hospitals and care homes set to end
Lateral flow tests will no longer be needed for symptomatic nurses in England unless they work with more vulnerable patients and are set to end on 1 April
COVID-19 testing for most symptomatic nurses and other healthcare staff in England is set to end.
Testing is to be scaled back as the risk of hospitalisation from infection decreases
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced the majority of staff and patients in hospitals and care homes will no longer be tested from 1 April, even if they have symptoms.
Testing in England is being scaled back even further as part of the government’s ‘living with COVID’ approach as the severity of the disease and its effect on the NHS eases, UKHSA said.
Some symptomatic staff who work with severely immunocompromised patients will still be tested using lateral flow device (LFD) tests, as will those who work in hospices and care settings where an outbreak occurs.
UKHSA chief executive Jenny Harries said: ‘Fewer people now experience severe illness due to COVID-19 because of vaccinations, infection-related immunity and treatments for those who need them and the risk of hospitalisation has decreased overall.
‘This means we are now able to further bring our testing programmes in line with the management of other viral infections while still maintaining focus on those at highest risk to protect them from the virus.’
Other UK countries will continue to test symptomatic staff
Testing will be scaled up again if a fresh wave or new COVID-19 variant puts ‘significantly increased pressure’ on the health service, UKHSA confirmed.
Currently, patient-facing NHS staff with symptoms in England are asked to take an LFD test as soon as they feel unwell and self-isolate for five days if it is positive. They are able to return to work after they have had two consecutive LFD tests at least 24 hours apart and five days after symptoms started or they first tested positive.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are continuing free testing for symptomatic healthcare staff.
Tests for asymptomatic NHS staff and all free testing for the public had largely ended in all four UK nations last year. Many nurses criticised the end of asymptomatic testing, which they said would leave them paying £50 a month for tests.
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