Since announcing the end of free public Covid testing, the Department of Health and Social Care in England has not announced any alternative way for health and care professionals, including physiotherapists and support workers, to access regular testing.
CSP policy director Rob Yeldham said: ‘Regular testing of asymptomatic healthcare staff is essential to prevent the spread of Covid to clinically vulnerable patients and to prevent a loss of staff from outbreaks in healthcare settings.
Legal duty
‘The Department for Health and Social Care should be continuing to provide free testing for health and care staff directly.
If they do not, the NHS and other providers must remember that health and safety legislation requires them provide a safe place to work and undertake thorough risk assessments in order to reduce risks and protect their employees as far as is reasonably practicable.
Given the transmissibility of Covid-19 taken with NHS staff providing care to vulnerable patients, the risk of transmission can only be medium to high. This is likely to mean they will have to provide regular free testing of staff who are exposed to patients and colleagues who potentially have Covid.
Cost of living
If the Department for Health and Social Care is not going to provide access to free Covid testing, the CSP is concerned that, as well as being unfair, many low paid health workers will be unable to afford regular testing especially in the context of rising costs of living.
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