Dear colleagues,
During this period of increased pressure on general practice we are committed to supporting you to deliver effective care and keep people safe. We are aware that access to testing for your staff is a key priority for you, so you can continue to operate and deliver care for your patients.
Local systems, coordinated through CCGs, have been established to arrange testing. Providers should use these systems first to access the testing they need for their staff.
If you are experiencing difficulties accessing testing through these routes, you will be able to access testing for your staff through an alternative system that the CQC are supporting. This new route does not replace existing local systems but is intended to ensure as many staff as possible are able to access a test, as quickly as possible.
Eligibility to access this service includes:
Self-isolating because your member of staff is symptomatic
- In this instance the member of staff is the only eligible person in their household to receive a COVID-19 test. No other members of their household are eligible
Self-isolating because an adult (over 18) in their household is symptomatic, but your member of staff is not
- In this instance only the adult household member(s) of the staff member is eligible to come to a test centre to receive a COVID-19 test.
Self-isolating because a child (under 18) in their household member is symptomatic, but your member of staff is not
- In this instance, only the under 18 household member of your member of staff is eligible to come to a test centre to receive a COVID-19 test.
You should ideally be in the first three days of the onset of your COVID-19 symptoms at the time the swab is taken - although testing is considered effective up until day five.
We will be contacting individual providers with details of how to book testing for their staff through this new route and more information on eligibility over the next week.
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