COVID-19 Staff Testing: Local Process
Ensuring the safety of our health and social care staff is a priority for our system. We have collectively developed a local process for staff or household members who need Covid-19 (coronavirus) testing, available from Friday 3rd April 2020.
Testing facilities
Swabbing is undertaken by Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust at their drive through facilities in Shrewsbury and in Telford. This testing facility is for staff/household member testing only, not patient testing and is accessed via referral only.
The tests are processed by the laboratory at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and results are communicated to individuals by the Occupational Health Department who will also provide health and wellbeing support.
Please note: The testing sites are different to the Covid-19 assessment centres being run by Primary Care (for example at Shrewsbury Town Football Club).
Eligibility
We are following the national criteria to help identify staff or household members who are eligible for testing, as follows:
- The staff member has Covid-19 symptoms;
OR
- The staff member is self-isolating due to an adult or child household member(s) having symptoms of Covid-19. In this instance, it is the household member(s) displaying the most acute symptoms of Covid-19 who should be tested, rather than the staff member themselves
To maximise the accuracy of the Covid-19 test, the individual with Covid-19 symptoms should be ideally tested within 1-3 days and up to a maximum of 5 days of the on-set of symptoms.
Only household members over the age of 2 years are eligible for testing, and parental consent must be sought for those under the age of 18-years.
Initially we prioritised which staff/household member received testing in line with national policy guidance, and we are now rolling out the Covid-19 testing to the wider health, care and public sector system.
When you report in your absence, your information will be shared with our Single Point of Referral Service, who will then make contact with you directly to confirm your eligibility for a Covid-19 test. Contact your line manager or HR Department if you have any queries.
Work is ongoing to continue to roll out the staff testing programme to all partners supporting the Covid-19 response across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin. Any queries relating to our local staff testing programme should be emailed to