From tomorrow (Monday 19 July), double vaccinated frontline NHS
and social care staff in England who have been told to
self-isolate will be permitted to attend work in exceptional
circumstances and replaced by testing mitigations. This will
include staff who have been contacted as a close contact of a
case of COVID-19 by NHS Test and Trace, or advised to
self-isolate by the NHS Covid-19 app.
This measure is being introduced to alleviate pressure on NHS and
social care services and will be contingent on staff members only
working after having a negative PCR test and also taking daily
negative lateral flow tests for a minimum of seven days, and up
to 10 days or completion of the identified self-isolation period.
This measure is being introduced to alleviate pressure on NHS and
social care services and will be contingent on staff members only
working after having a negative PCR test and daily negative
lateral flow tests.
The government is clear the change applies only to frontline NHS
and social care staff where their absence may lead to a
significant risk of harm.
The decision to allow NHS and social care staff to attend work
after being told to self-isolate should be made on a case-by-case
basis, and only after a risk assessment by the organisation’s
management. This must be authorised by the organisation’s local
Director of Infection Prevention and Control, the lead
professional for health protection, or the Director of Public
Health relevant to the organisation.
Health Secretary
said:
As we learn to live with this virus, it's important that we
ensure frontline staff can keep providing the best possible care
and support to people up and down the country.
"The government has backed healthcare services at every turn
through this global pandemic and these new rules will fortify our
collective defences against this awful virus, by allowing fully
vaccinated frontline NHS and social care staff to continue to
work when needed.”
Careful consideration should be given by local NHS and social
care organisations to the risk of onward transmission compared to
the risk to delivery of critical services. Staff who are
permitted to attend work will remain under a legal duty to
self-isolate as a close contact when not at work, but will be
considered to have a ‘reasonable excuse’ under the Self-Isolation
regulations to leave self-isolation to attend work where their
absence could result in harm. They will continue to receive
self-isolation reminders.
UK Health Security Agency Chief Executive, Jenny Harries,
said:
“With the number of cases continuing to rise, it is imperative
that we do everything we can to manage this virus and support our
NHS and social care services under the strain of increased demand
and sustained pressure.
“We have provided specific guidance to NHS and social care
settings for circumstances where there is a significant risk to
health or safety resulting from staff absence or a critical
service cannot run.
“This measure only applies to double vaccinated staff, who will
only be able to attend work after testing negative on PCR and
daily lateral flow tests, and following a risk assessment and the
supervision of the health service.”
In order to mitigate the increased risk associated with attending
work, the following mitigations must be implemented:
- The staff member should be fully vaccinated, defined as
having received both doses of an MHRA approved vaccination, with
14 days having elapsed since the final dose.
- The staff member should undertake a PCR test and should
self-isolate until they receive the result. They should only
attend work if this result is negative.
- They should undertake daily LFD tests prior to starting work
each day. Test results should be reported to NHS Test and Trace
via the web portal and to their duty manager. Any staff member
who has a positive LFD test during this period should not attend
work and should arrange a PCR test as soon as possible.
- If the staff member develops any COVID symptoms, they
should stay at home and immediately arrange a PCR test.
- Staff working during this 10-day period should comply with
all relevant infection control precautions and PPE should be
properly worn throughout the day. Any breaches should be reported
immediately to their line manager.
- The staff member should not work with clinically extremely
vulnerable patients or residents, as determined by the
organisation.
Existing guidance will be updated by Public Health England today
(Monday 19 July), and shared with NHS trusts and relevant social
care organisations across England.
ENDS
Background
The decision to permit staff to leave self-isolation to attend
work should be made on a case by case basis, and only after a
risk assessment by the organisation’s management and
authorisation by the organisation’s local Director of Infection
Prevention and Control and/or the lead professional for health
protection and/or Director of Public Health relevant to the
organisation. The gov.uk website has
been updated to reflect this.
