Over the last few weeks it has become increasingly evident that there has been both a disruption and delay of the weekly staff testing regime that is required of care homes.  This has been documented in numerous HSCP Partnership forums, telephone calls and emails from care home providers highlighting concerns over delays in receiving test results and a considerable number of test results returned as inconclusive. Since the 2^nd week in August there has been a gradual slowing down in the time taken for test results to be returned.  This has seen an increase from a 1 – 3 day waiting period initially and a very high level of response to around 5 and 6 days and incidences of 7-10 days for those tests that were undertaken the week commencing the 24^th August.

This timeframe can be connected to the opening of schools across the country which saw a dramatic increase in the request for tests from families whose children were displaying COVID symptoms. It also relates to increased demand and problems directly associated with the UK Government Social Care portal.

These circumstances mean that staff are currently in the position of being asked to undertake another test while not having received the results of their previous test.  This understandably has generated a lack of faith in the integrity, resilience and rigour of the National Testing programme which in turn puts at risk their commitment to undergoing tests.

The importance of these issues cannot be understated as the weekly testing regime has a critical purpose of protecting residents from staff who may be unknowingly carrying the virus.  The impact will be felt also in staffing levels and sustaining service delivery as infected workers will pass on the virus to colleagues and staff absence levels will rise.

In addition, a robust testing regime is a key requirement of enabling family members to visit their relatives in care homes and as autumn and winter starts we need to do everything we can to ensure that indoor visiting is protected. We have a real concern for the coming weeks and months as further impacts will be felt not least from the return of Universities and Colleges and the remobilisation of NHS services.

Scottish Care acknowledges that Scottish Government officials have been very responsive to our concerns and have been working hard to address these issues with the UK Government Social Care portal. The UK portal system has been unresponsive to the needs of the care sector in Scotland. We now believe that it would be in the best interests of both staff and residents if the whole testing of staff was taken over directly by Scottish Government.

Scottish Care welcomes the announcement in the Programme for Government that an Independent Review will be established to explore the options around the future of adult social care in Scotland, including exploring a national care service.

Scottish Care has long argued over many years and under successive administrations that adult social care needed urgent reform and resourcing. Such reform needs to be rooted in the individual human rights of citizens. It fundamentally needs to understand that social care is NOT the same as health care and therefore we cannot just copy the NHS and use it as a template. Critically social care involves life-long services and supports at the heart of which citizens must be able to have control and voice.

Dr Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care stated:

“It is sad that it has taken a global pandemic to highlight the faults in our social care system when those who provide and work in care have been talking about under-resourcing, lack of prioritisation and focus for many years.

Nevertheless, I am pleased to see the establishment of the Independent Review and the independent care sector looks forward to working with the Review group. Theirs is not an easy task. If we want to create a care service where people are treated equally, where regardless of your condition and life support needs you are able to get care free at the point of need, where workers are given terms and conditions which value their role then this will result in a massive fiscal outlay for all of society. It is right that we should have this debate and as a society consider the options which will lead us to having a high quality, rights based social care system.”