Covid test concerns lead to visiting delay at Sheffield care homes
Many families won't get to see loved ones before Christmas
It's feared many Sheffield families who have relatives in care homes won't get to see them face-to-face before Christmas because of worries over the accuracy of new Covid tests.
The government said last month quick-turnaround lateral flow tests will allow those who test negative to hug their loved ones again before 25th December.
But Sheffield City Council's worried the tests, which have now started to arrive, aren't accurate enough.
They've told care homes in the city not to use them for now.
Nicola Richards is from Palm Rows Healthcare which owns two homes in the city - she says it's unlikely it'll get sorted before Christmas:
"I think Sheffield City Council were absolutely right to do that. It's just disappointing for many families and residents that they can't be reunited as they believed they could be.
"We've all worked really hard trying to facilitate things like Zoom calls, FaceTime and window visits. But it's not quite the same as sitting down with your loved ones. But we can't do that at the moment - it's just so sad."
Although some care homes have introduced visiting pods so families can visit safely, many care providers haven't been able to offer visiting at all.
The lateral flow tests, which give a result within an hour, were used during a mass testing pilot in Liverpool and are now being rolled out in Tier 3 areas as well as in care homes.
But some scientists have questioned whether they're accurate enough at picking up the virus.
In a letter sent to care providers at the end of last month, Sara Storey from Sheffield City Council said:
"Sheffield City Council cannot be assured of the accuracy of the LFT kits in high risk sensitive settings such as care homes. When used in practice the performance of the LFT kits appears to show an unacceptably high risk of not correctly detecting infected individuals.
"We are urgently seeking clarification on this matter from the DHSC. In the meantime we are advising providers not to use LFT kits in care home settings in relating to residents, staff or visitors until we can gain assurances of their effectiveness."
Nicola Richards from Palm Rows Healthcare says the government got families' hopes up by announcing the visiting policy:
"I think the government were very quick to make these announcements before looking at the challenges on the frontline, and the accuracy of them.
"There are many taskforce groups out there but I do think sometimes we prematurely make announcements that we can't meet operationally."
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said:
“Extensive testing has shown that lateral flow devices, which can return results in under an hour, are suitable for use in care homes where they can identify people who are the most likely to spread the virus further and prevent transmission of the disease from staff and visitors.
“Testing is only part of the approach and it’s essential visitors wear PPE and follow all infection control methods to keep their loved ones, other residents and staff safe.
“We have sent more than a million tests, provided free PPE and issued guidance to help bring families back together. Care home residents in all tiers will have the chance to see their relatives soon and homes across the country are arranging visits now.”