Care homes are urging visitors to continue testing amid fears they will spread Covid, even though free lateral flow testing is ending.

As part of the Government’s living with Covid plan, from April 1 most people will have to pay for a lateral flow test in England.

The measures come into force as levels of the virus remain high within society, with an estimated one in 16 people infected in the UK.

Among those still eligible for free testing include care home residents and people working in some high-risk settings, including care homes and prisons, where staff without symptoms will be able to test regularly.

However, most visitors to adult social care settings will not be required to take a test – prompting fears from providers that vulnerable people will be increasingly exposed to Covid-19.

‘Really strange move’ to stop free testing

Nadra Ahmed, chairman of the National Care Association, said that visitors to care homes should test “if they have symptoms or have been in contact with someone who has symptoms or tested positive”.

She added: “Visitors should never have been left out of the free testing regime, as they’re coming into high-risk environments for themselves and loved ones.

“This is a community of frail, vulnerable people with complex medical conditions and we know the virus is still out there and is highly infectious within communities, and no testing is now the new normal.

“It’s a really strange move for the Government to stop it. Hopefully the lack of free tests won’t stop people from visiting and we’re hoping that families will take the tests before they come and recognise the challenges that potentially gives to providers.”

Ms Ahmed said that “there are fears people won’t test, but were not in a position to do anything about it”, adding: “We have to live with this exposed risk now.”

Some free testing will continue during April in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Wales, the cut-off is July.

End of free testing ‘an own goal’

Julia Jones, co-founder of John’s Campaign, a campaign for extended visiting rights for family carers of patients with dementia in hospitals in the UK, also feared that the lack of free testing for visitors could harm care home residents.

She said: “I think that for the amount of money saved, the damage and bad feeling is disproportionate – especially because many care home residents and relatives saw their fees put up over the last couple of years to pay for things like PPE and staff testing.” 

She added that residents and relatives paying for lateral flow tests is “an own goal, because you discourage people from testing and visiting, and therefore add insult to injury”.