Care homes hit by 250,000 Covid test backlog

Shortage revealed after UK faced major lateral flow and PCR testing issues at the start of the year

Patient samples are transferred by scientists into plates before entering the PCR (PA Archive)

Thousands of care homes were hit by delays in Covid PCR tests as a backlog of 250,000 was uncovered, it has emerged.

The UK Health Security Agency issued a warning that the delay may have impacted the ability of care homes and prisons to manage Covid-19 outbreaks.

The 2 January backlog was driven by “increased workload and staff absence” according to leaked emails obtained by the Sunday Times.

The issue impacted more than 4,500 care homes across England and 70 prisons. South-east England was impacted the most, with 963 care homes hit by the delays.

It comes amid major lateral flow and PCR testing shortages at the begging of the year, which hit hospitals if workers were forced to isolate due to lack of tests.

In an email to staff on 29 December, one mental health trust in Manchester warned that PCR tests were in “very high” demand and the hospital only had a “limited stock of lateral flow tests.”

UKHSA said the backlog was resolved on 6 January and said the majority of tests were routine asymptomatic PCR tests from care homes.

The agency last week dropped the rule requiring anyone testing positive from a lateral flow test to take a confirmatory PCR. In a letter to NHS trust chiefs on Saturday, NHS England confirmed this guidance would also apply to NHS staff.

Hospitals were also told that the likelihood of a positive LFD test after 10 days is “very low” and if staff were still testing positive after 10 days but have no symptoms, they could return to work following a “risk assessment”.

It added: “We are aware that with current staff absence levels organisations will at times need to risk assess isolating staff to allow them to return to work on a balance of risk basis (for those who remain LFD positive on or after day 10).”

If staff are fully vaccinated and come into contact with a person who tested positive for Covid they can return to work if they have a negative PCR test but should take daily lateral flow tests for 10 days.