Removing isolation for asymptomatic people with Covid could put patients at risk, says care boss
Lifting the isolation requirement for care home workers who test positive for Covid-19 but are asymptomatic would risk residents and staff contracting the illness, the boss of a Shropshire care company has said.
However Debbie Price, the chief executive officer of Coverage Care Services, which operates 12 care homes in Shropshire, said there should be a rethink on self-isolation for those living in the same household as someone who tests positive.
Tony Stein, the head of Birmingham-based Healthcare Management Solutions, which has more than 100 staff isolating, says people with Covid who are asymptomatic should not be required to isolate.
"In a highly vaccinated population like the UK, where a drastically milder version of Covid is becoming prevalent, it is time for the Government and public to accept that asymptomatic people shouldn't isolate, " he said.
"Evidence suggests that if you're double vaccinated and boosted - like all social care staff are mandated to be - you aren't going to get seriously ill. A vast majority of residents are also vaccinated."
But Mrs Price said that whilst the new Omicron strain of Coronavirus was putting additional pressure on staffing levels, removing the seven-day isolation period for those testing positive for the virus but with no symptoms was not the way forward.
“Lifting the isolation period for those known to have Covid-19 would put residents and other staff at risk of contracting the illness and we don’t think this is a sensible step forward at this moment in time,” she said.
“What could be helpful, however, is a rethink over the rules around self-isolation for those living in the same household as someone who tests positive.
"Most absences across our homes are not linked to employees testing positive themselves but instead because they are having to self-isolate due to a family member having Covid. This puts them out of action for at least 10 days.”
In addition to the self-isolation rules being reviewed, Mrs Price said it was also necessary for the UK Health Security Agency, which is responsible for setting infection control guidance, to reassess the Covid outbreak criteria in relation to care homes.
At the moment two positive cases in a home, be it staff or residents, can result in it being shut to new admissions and residents missing out on family visits other than from those designated as an Essential Care Giver.
“This is having a big impact on residents in terms of their mental wellbeing and has also become one of the biggest blockers to easing hospital discharges and the policy needs to be urgently reviewed,” said Mrs Price.
Mr Stein said a lack of care staff due to isolation rules meant there was a backlog of patients who were ready to leave hospital but had no place to go to.
