Almost two thirds of care homes have not had staff tested

The majority of care homes say they have not had any staff tested for coronavirus, according to a new survey.

The survey by the Data Analysis Bureau (T-DAB), based on anonymised data from Person Centred Software, shows 62% of care homes have not had any staff members tested at any stage.

Based on a sample of 12,407 care givers from 650 care homes across England, Wales and Scotland, the survey also reveals just 9% of care home staff have been tested since 15 May, when health secretary Matt Hancock promised testing for every resident and member of staff.

According to the data, 6% of care home staff were tested in the seven days leading up to 27 May, and 15% have been tested since the start of the pandemic.

‘The rate of testing of care home staff has picked up in the last week but is still far too slow to get close to the target set by the government,’ said T-DAB director, Simon Briscoe.

‘Testing of just one in ten staff and residents is far below the rate demanded by industry bodies and targeted by government.’

Last month, the National Care Forum (NCF) has called for 200,000 routine and regular tests per day across the social care sector to get on top of the coronavirus pandemic.

The NCF also published details of a member survey, which shows that just 3,466 care staff and 4,619 residents have been tested between 23 April and 14 May.

The survey also found the speed at which test results are returned varies widely.

Simon Papworth, co-founder and director of Person Centred Software, added: ‘Our anonymised data covers thousands of care providers, including private and not-for-profit, from single home providers to large groups. This up to date insight of Covid-19 testing provides a close representation of the current situation in care homes across the country, providing a more representative picture than any individual adult social care provider could provide.’

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