FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The National Care Forum surveyed its members about the new testing arrangements. The survey represents the perspectives of a wide range of organisations who between them employ 31,262 staff. Of these 6,469 were identified as being a priority for testing (due to having symptoms) and attempts were made to get them tested. Less than a quarter (1,436) were actually tested (22%).

On 15 April, the Social Care Action Plan made an absolute commitment to testing for care workers:

“We are rolling out testing of social care workers …. There is now capacity available for every social care worker who needs a test to have one, just as there is for NHS staff and their families.”

This promise is not being met.

Our survey shows that the employer portal is not working for social care employers. Using this route, only 2% (138 out of 6469) of staff were able to receive a test at drive-through centres, with no home testing being available on the system via this route. There is a significant manual backlog in the system, which means that large numbers of providers seeking to access testing via this route are not yet even entered onto the system, and there is no prioritisation for social care employers.

In the words of two of our members:

‘I sent an email on Monday 27th April to register onto the portal & sent it again on the 29th April. After not hearing from them I phoned on 1st May to be told there was a backlog with registration onto the portal and I had to wait. The contact couldn’t give me a timeframe & as of today (4.5.20), we have still not been contacted.’

‘We have not had any success with the employer portal. Despite several e-mails being sent to register we have not heard anything back at all. Therefore, none of our staff have been able to be tested through this process.’

The self-referral portal appeared to prove more successful with 583 staff managing to get a test via this route. Out of this number, 546 attended drive-through appointments but only 37 received home testing kits. This route, whilst proving more successful, only enabled 9% of the staff who needed testing to obtain a test.

There are a number of significant issues with the self-referral route. Again, there is no prioritisation for care staff and therefore to obtain a test you have to compete against all other eligible keyworkers and eligible members of the public. This means that employers are not able to plan a strategic approach to testing to align with the homes they most need testing in and employees are under no obligation to report their test results with their employer.

Local testing systems (such as locally organised testing by PHE Teams or local authorities) seem to be the most successful, where they are in place. 715 members of staff have managed to access testing through local systems. However, this is only 11% of the total number of staff who need testing (715 out of 6469). Local testing systems remain hugely variable and inconsistent across localities – where they work well, testing is effective and efficient and responsive. However, it is a postcode lottery.

Vic Rayner, Executive Director of the National Care Forum says:

“The government’s promise to provide tests for all staff is exposed as pure words. Social care needs to be systematically prioritised in each and every testing system, in order for government to live up to its commitment.

We are calling for:

The prioritisation of social care employers through the Getting Tested Portal to ensure they have a strategic and targeted prioritization of all their employees – regardless of symptoms as previously promised by the government and for social care workers to be given priority status on the self-referral portal.”

END

Editor Notes:

• The National Care Forum brings together 120 of the UK’s leading social care charities. Collectively, these charities deliver more than £1.9 billion of social care support to more than 135,000 people in 6500 settings. The NCF membership body collectively employs more than 85,000 colleagues.
• NCF surveyed 38 of its members. 31,262 people are employed by these providers. 6,469 were identified as needing testing due to having symptoms of COVID-19. Only 1,436 have actually been tested so far.
• Only 138 staff were able to access testing through the employer portal. No home-testing kits were available.
• 583 employees told their employers that they were able to access testing through the self-referral portal. Of this 546 accessed drive-through testing and 37 accessed home testing kits.
• 715 employees were able to access testing through local testing systems – making it the most successful testing route. This was highly variable depending on where social care providers are based in the country.
• More information is available on the National Care Forum at nationalcareforum.org.uk. @NCFCareForum @vicrayner @NCF_Liz
• For enquiries, please contact Edna Petzen (edna.petzen@nationalcareforum.org.uk).