Coronavirus: Labour calls for weekly Covid testing for all health care staff

Move comes as Royal College of surgeons president says testing staff regularly 'absolutely essential

All health and care workers should be tested for coronavirus once a week "as an urgent priority" to minimise the spread of the virus, Labour's shadow health minister has said.

Healthcare workers with symptoms of the virus have consistently been given priority access to testing for Covid-19, which has claimed the lives of more than 42,000 people across the UK.

However with case numbers declining Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathon has called for all staff to be tested on a weekly basis - not just those who are symptomatic.

"Regular testing of all NHS staff must now be an urgent priority," Mr Ashworth said.

"Weekly testing of all healthcare workers reduces the spread of the virus and helps protect NHS staff and patients.

Eventually resetting the NHS to continue treating Covid and non-Covid patients is going to have to take priority.

"This should include putting in place infection control measures to make sure patients can continue to safely receive their care, and routine testing of all staff should be a part of this."

Meanwhile the party’s shadow social care minister Liz Kendall has called for similar measures to be considered by government for those working in nursing homes.

In a letter to the health secretary Matt Hancock, she wrote: “Testing for all care workers, in every setting, must become routine with rapid results. So far, the Government’s stated goal has been to offer all care homes tests by 6th June.

“However, studies suggest weekly testing of care staff, even when they don’t have symptoms, could help bring transmission rates down. We know that many people who contract the virus are asymptomatic, so regular testing should be implemented to ensure we track, trace and isolate every positive case.”

It comes after Professor Derek Alderson, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said it would be “pragmatic” for staff to be tested “about twice weekly” to allow for false negatives.

“It’s absolutely essential to regain public confidence that we are able to test our staff regularly,” he told the House of Commons’ health and social care select committee on Tuesday .

Meanwhile a study published in April by Imperial College London concluded that weekly Covid-19 testing in healthcare and care home staff could reduce spread of the disease.

The study found that if healthcare workers were given weekly PCR or point-of-care tests for infection, this would reduce their contribution to transmission by 25-33 per cent, on top of reductions achieved by self-isolation following symptoms.

Additional reporting by PA.