Staff Covid Lateral Flow Testing

From 1 April, in line with UKHSA advice, staff testing will operate as follows:

• Patient facing staff should continue to test twice weekly when asymptomatic. LFD tests will continue to be available through the gov.uk portal for NHS staff working in a patient-facing role. NHS England is working with UKHSA to determine how routine asymptomatic testing should be stepped down in line with any decrease in prevalence rates.
• Symptomatic NHS staff should test using LFDs.  
• Staff who test positive should continue to follow the current return to work guidance. LFDs to support this guidance will continue to be available through the gov.uk portal for NHS staff in England.
• Staff with COVID-19 should not attend work until they have had 2 consecutive negative LFD test results (taken at least 24 hours apart), they feel well, and they do not have a high temperature. The first LFD test should only be taken from 5 days after the day their symptoms started (or the day of their positive test) - Day 0. If both LFD tests results are negative they may return to work immediately after the second negative LFD test result,
• Staff who are household contacts of a positive COVID-19 case will now be able to continue to work as normal if they remain asymptomatic and continue to test twice weekly. They will no longer be required to have a PCR test in order to return to work.

Letter 30^th March 2022

Covid 19 Management of staff