'We needed this three weeks ago': Shropshire care home bosses on coronavirus testing
Care homes across Shropshire have welcomed a Government pledge to test staff and residents for coronavirus, but one manager said it should have happened sooner.
Karen Williams, manager at Woodland Care Home in Morda, outside Oswestry, said the development was welcome, but homes need to know when it would start.
Two residents at Woodland have already died with the virus, and another is in hospital.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has pledged they will test staff and residents as capacity increases – as well as testing those discharged from hospitals to social care.
David Coull, chief executive of Coverage Care, which has 14 care homes in the county and 800 residents, welcomed the announcement but added that test results also need to be speeded up.
Currently Coverage Care have had no positive tests for Covid-19 and Mr Coull added: "We can’t afford for there to be a four- or five-day delay which seems to be the case currently."
Mrs Williams said the inability to test was leading to some staff having to to remain off sick, causing a greater workload for those still able to work.
She said: "When? When are they going to protect the public, the residents and the staff?
"We are not the only care home in this situation. We have got staff going off with symptoms but they need to be tested. We have other staff here working seven days a week – they are exhausted. We need those other staff tested so they can come back in."
Vital
She added: "We have already got it in the home so it is not going to solve that problem but it stops them spreading it.
"We needed this three weeks ago."
Mr Coull said: “It’s absolutely vital for the safety of our residents and the staff who look after them that testing is more readily available within the care sector.
"We would also urge that efforts are made to reduce the time scales for receiving test results.
“At this moment in time we have had no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in our homes but we are by no means complacent and we are constantly reviewing the precautionary measures we have in place.
“Where necessary we are isolating more vulnerable residents in their own rooms and we are increasing our deep cleaning regimes in the homes."
