Changes to the COVID-19 testing approach from April 2023 | QCS

Changes to the COVID-19 testing approach from April 2023

Dementia Care
April 3, 2023

Changes to the COVID-19 testing approach from April 2023

The UK Health Security Agency has announced changes to Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing that will come into effect from April 2023.

The updated approach will ensure that testing continues to focus on those at highest risk, that it enables appropriate clinical treatment and supports the management of outbreaks in high-risk settings including health and social care.

The changes come over a year after the transition to living with COVID-19. According to the agency, throughout the pandemic ‘the Government prioritised protecting the most vulnerable. Over the past year, COVID-19 testing has gradually been scaled back as the severity and impact of COVID-19 on the NHS reduced.’

It went on say that testing in England ‘can now be further aligned with the management of other common respiratory infections thanks to the ongoing success of the vaccination programme, increased access to therapeutic treatments and high immunity amongst the population’.

A major change is that PCR tests will not be processed from 1 April and lateral flow devices (LFDs) should be used instead. The agency says that LFDs are proven to be effective, rapid and safe, regularly monitored against new variants and are increasingly being used instead of PCR testing.

The changes are set out in detail in the guidance for those working in the NHS, adult social care and high-risk settings. Some relevant changes for the care sector include:

Routine testing will end for the following:

  • Routine asymptomatic testing, including testing on admission, for staff and patients across all health and social care settings including hospitals and care homes – the majority of this testing has already been paused since August 2022
  • Routine symptomatic testing of staff and residents in care settings
  • All PCR testing outside NHS settings

In addition, testing will continue for the following groups, using LFD tests:

  • People in the community and residents in care or other high-risk settings, if they have symptoms and are eligible for COVID-19 treatment, to enable rapid access to treatment
  • All patients being discharged from hospitals into care settings
  • Outbreak testing in the NHS, care settings, hospices

When it comes to outbreaks in care homes, the guidance states that only the first five residents with symptoms of a respiratory infection will be asked to take an LFD test to identify if there is an outbreak of COVID-19. This is in addition to ongoing testing for symptomatic individuals eligible for COVID-19 treatments. Outbreak measures can be lifted five days after the last suspected or confirmed case.

In addition, there is no difference between advice for small care homes and other care homes, while health protections teams (HPTs) can advise wider testing where there are specific concerns.

Visiting arrangements in care homes have been updated to be ‘explicit that there should not be any restrictions on visits out for individuals who are not symptomatic or who have not tested positive in any circumstance’.

In terms of admission of care home residents, those being admitted from hospital will take an LFD test within 48 hours before discharge, and there is no requirement for PCR tests.

To read the guidance in full, click here.