Testing guidance for homecare workers in England
Updated 1 April 2022
Applies to England
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Introduction
Regular asymptomatic coronavirus (COVID-19) testing is available to all homecare workers in England. All homecare workers should undertake a daily rapid lateral flow test (LFT) on the days that they are working before they start work.
The guidance covers details of how providers can apply for test kits for their homecare workers. Homecare agencies will be responsible for ordering and distributing LFT kits to all homecare workers for them to conduct at home on a daily basis.
This guidance applies to staff who are asymptomatic. Anyone who is symptomatic should stay at home, order a PCR test and do not return to work until they have received their result.
Why testing is important
Testing:
- identifies whether homecare workers are likely to have COVID-19 so they can stay at home if positive
- reduces the risk of those receiving care contracting the virus from those who care for them
- prevents and controls the spread of the virus by identifying asymptomatic cases
- testing with LFTs quickly identifies individuals who are highly infectious, enabling swift action to minimise the spread of the virus
Testing and acting on those results should continue. For the latest advice on how long to stay at home and in what circumstances, read the management of staff and exposed residents guidance.
Eligible organisations
Your organisation is eligible if you are a Care Quality Commission (CQC)-regulated homecare organisation in England providing personal care.
If you believe you are eligible and have not been contacted by NHS Test and Trace with information on ordering test kits, please call 119.
Unique Organisation Number
NHS Test and Trace assigns all participating organisations a single Unique Organisation Number (UON).
Agency managers will receive their UON via the email address registered with CQC. Please make sure that the person who receives these emails understands the importance of this message and knows who to contact.
A UON is an 8-digit number that is exclusive to an individual organisation. This can be used to log in to all online elements of the testing process.
Agency managers will need to use their UON for:
- ordering test kits
- contacting the national COVID-19 contact centre for support (dial 119)
Please make sure that your UON is correct when you log into the portal. If the UON entered is not valid, you will be prompted by a new error message screen. If you are having issues remembering your UON you can use our online UON look-up page, or please call 119.
1. A summary of your involvement
1.1 Agency managers
If you are the registered manager of a homecare agency, you are responsible for a team of homecare workers or you have been delegated responsibility for testing by your organisation, your key responsibilities are to:
- order test kits for homecare workers
- communicate your agency’s UON to homecare workers
- distribute LFT kits to homecare workers
- encourage and support your homecare workers to complete and report LFT results daily. Providers do not need to retain records of proof of registrations
1.2 Homecare workers
If you are a homecare worker who visits people with care and support needs at their homes, your key responsibilities are to:
- conduct a daily LFT on the days that you are working before your round begins. If you are a live-in worker, conduct daily LFTs as close to the beginning of the day as possible and 24 hours apart
- register your LFT test results online as soon as you have completed them using your agency’s UON. If you do not have access to the internet, you can also report results by calling 119
- if you test positive for COVID-19, follow the guidance in the management of staff and exposed residents guidance
- regardless of your result, continue following all infection prevention and control (IPC) measures such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), washing your hands, and socially distancing where possible
- if you develop symptoms of COVID-19, stay at home and order a PCR test to conduct at home immediately. You can order a PCR test here
2. Step-by-step guide for agency managers
2.1 Ordering test kits
The agency manager is responsible for ordering LFT kits for the homecare workers in the team.
Each agency manager must register for test kits.
To apply, you will need:
- your unique organisation number (UON)
- total number of homecare workers for testing
When ordering you will be asked to enter the number of residents or non-staff. You should enter zero for this.
Once you have placed an order, you will receive a confirmatory email from organisation.coronavirus.testing@notifications.service.gov.uk
The agency manager will receive an email from organisation.coronavirus.testing@notifications.service.gov.uk when their test kits have been dispatched, informing them of their delivery date.
Test kits will be delivered to the address of your homecare agency, as registered with CQC.
The agency manager is responsible for taking delivery of the test kits.
The agency manager should then order kits every 21 days for their homecare workers.
If you have any issues ordering test kits, please call 119.
2.2 Distributing test kits
Once the kits are delivered to the registered address, it is the agency manager’s responsibility to distribute them to homecare workers.
The agency manager should inform their team that the kits have arrived. They can either distribute the kits or advise carers to collect a month’s worth of test kits each as soon as possible.
You will know how best to handle the distribution process for your team but below are some suggestions that have been put forward by homecare agencies as part of our initial research.
- Homecare workers can pick up kits at the same time they pick up other materials (for example, PPE, consumables and other medical supplies).
- Agency managers or supervisors can hand out the kits to the group at daily/weekly meetings.
Ensure each care worker collects boxes of LFT kits every month so that daily testing can continue without interruption.
2.3 Testing
To protect your homecare workers and the people they support, it is important that homecare workers are encouraged to:
- complete one LFT every day, before they start work; or, if they are live-in carers, as close to the beginning of the day as possible, around 24 hours apart
- report each result online
2.4 Support available to you
Providers may use funding from the existing ICTF for reasonable administrative costs associated with organising and recording the outcomes of COVID-19 tests and where these are not being supported by other government funding streams. Providers should contact their local authority concerning funding.
Read more on the full conditions and details.
3. Step-by-step guide for homecare workers
3.1 Collecting test kits
The agency manager will inform homecare workers when test kits arrive and how they can be collected or distributed.
Each homecare worker should take enough test kits for a month’s worth of testing.
3.2 Read the instructions
Before testing be sure to:
- read guidance for homecare workers
- read guidance included with your test kit
If a homecare worker becomes symptomatic they should stay at home, order a PCR test and continue to stay at home until they have received their result.
3.3 Take a test
Homecare workers should conduct one LFT every day they are working, before they start work, or if they are live-in carers, as close to the beginning of the day as possible, around 24 hours apart.
3.4 Reporting results
All test results must be reported after they have been completed.
Result reporting should be done using the setting’s UON for us to be able to associate the result with the setting’s account. Linking each test result to the UON enables public health teams to better support the reduction of transmission of COVID-19 and prevent outbreaks.
LFT Self-Reporting step-by-step
All results should be reported including positive, negative, or void. To report an LFT test result, the homecare worker will need the ID number on the test strip and their UON.
- Navigate to this online form to register the result. The online form links the LFT ID number and test result to the homecare worker and their organisation.
- The form will ask for the individual’s UON, personal details, ID number of the rapid LFT cartridge, and whether the result was positive, negative, or void.
When using the online form, there is the option to create a user account. When creating a user account, an individual’s email address is linked to their personal details.
Digital Reader
You can now also use the Digital Reader for reading LFT results via the self-report journey. For detailed information, see the Digital Reader guidebook.
3.5 Acting on results
Whether a user account is created or not, notifications of results will be sent to the homecare worker via SMS or email.
Agency managers may ask to see the SMS or email results as part of their tracking system.
If a homecare worker receives a positive LFT result, they should follow the management of staff and exposed residents guidance.
4. Testing within 90 days of a positive result
If an individual has tested positive with an LFT or PCR test, the testing they undertake in the following 90 days may be different. Full guidance on what testing to undertake within 90 days of a positive PCR or LFT result can be found in the management of staff and exposed residents guidance.