Routine testing for families visiting care homes being considered

Families with elderly relatives in care homes could be first in line for routine coronavirus tests to ensure residential homes are not exposed to increased risk of Covid.
Nicola Sturgeon has said the government is considering routine testing for people who need to visit family in nursing homes.Nicola Sturgeon has said the government is considering routine testing for people who need to visit family in nursing homes.
Nicola Sturgeon has said the government is considering routine testing for people who need to visit family in nursing homes.

Nicola Sturgeon has said the government is also considering routine tests for care workers in the community who work with disabled people in their own homes.

At First Minister’s Questions she was urged to increase routine testing for people without symptoms to assure both nursing home staff and families that they are not carriers of Covid - and was asked to put them ahead of routine testing of “younger, healthier" people.

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Last week campaigners protested outside the Scottish Parliament about the current restrictions on family visits to nursing homes. Since August 10, up to three visitors from two households have been able to see care home residents in outdoor meetings. Indoor visits are also now allowed in restricted circumstances, where the care home meets certain conditions including weekly coronavirus testing of staff and a risk assessment approved by the local director of public health.

In Holyrood today SNP MSP Joan McAlpine contrasted the consideration being given to the routine testing of students, with the need to test care workers “supporting vulnerable disabled people, including learning disabled people, outside care home settings.”

She said: "I was encouraged that the Cabinet Secretary for Health told me this group was being considered as testing capacity expanded, as indeed are host family carers to allow visiting. Can I appeal to the First Minister that routine testing to protect disabled people should come before the routine testing of young and healthy people if a choice has to be made due to capacity?”

And Scottish Conservative MSP, John Scott, asked Ms Sturgeon to “consider routine testing for family members to reassure nursing home managers, that it's safe to admit key family members into care homes as winter approaches and outdoor meetings becomes impractical."

The First Minister replied: “We are considering possible steps like that. The Health Secretary met last Friday with representatives from care home relatives groups and discussed a range of proposals put forward.

"We have our clinical and professional advisory group advising us on this issue to strike a better balance between family and visitor contact while continuing to protect residents from the virus entering their homes."

She added: "We have to make sure our testing decisions are driven by clinical considerations and the considerations about how we best protect vulnerable populations. We want our decisions to be driven for the right reasons and the group she [Ms McAlpine] identified is very much part of our thinking as part of our winter planning for possible extension of routine testing.

“There are complex issues we have to consider when it comes to routine testing, but where there are clear vulnerabilities such as with disabled people, or in care homes, then there are reasons that lead you towards routine testing.”

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