15 May 2020
The Coronavirus National Testing Programme is available to all front line workers – including PAs – who are having to self-isolate due to having Coronavirus-like symptoms or because a member of their household has symptoms.
You can apply for a self-referral test here or follow the information set out below
The full list of eligible employers now includes:
- All NHS and social care staff, including hospital, community and primary care, and relevant staff providing ancillary support to frontline NHS services (e.g. accommodation, catering) and voluntary workers.
- All PAs, across both health and social care
- Police, fire and rescue services.
- Local authority staff, to include core and essential workers such as those working with vulnerable children and adults, with victims of domestic violence, and with the homeless and rough sleepers, and those staff essential to the continuity of business
- Defence, prisons and probation, and judiciary staff.
- Front-line benefits workers
See Government information on the types of workers who may now be eligible for testing.
What do PAs and their employers need to do?
- Any PAs who think they are eligible and need to be tested are being instructed to speak to their employer first.
- Employers will need to complete the ‘Confirmation of employment and eligibility for testing- letter of ID’ and send it to their PAs with the presentation slides. These presentation slides includes a list of ‘drive-through’ regional test site locations.
- PAs will then able to register themselves for a test at the link provided within the invitation – using the link for ‘Other Government Departments’.
- Any PAs to be tested will need to attend a specified regional test location and must drive/be driven using their own car or a car that belongs to a member of their household.
UPDATE: Local testing programme available for PAs working in Knowsley
For some staff, if home testing is not available, the testing locations may not be convenient.
Any PA delivering frontline services who has either symptoms of coronavirus, causing them to self-isolate or has a member of their family household that has symptoms of coronavirus and is self-isolating, now has the opportunity to be tested locally.
To access the local testing centre, their employer should return a completed referral form for the PA as soon as possible – and no later than 3 days of onset of symptoms.
This form should be sent to covid19swabbing@knowsley.gov.uk.
Knowsley Council’s Testing Coordinator Ross McCooey will then arrange for them to be contacted directly by telephone on the number provided about testing and provide further information.
| Contact details for any queries about this process |
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| please email the Department of Health and Social Care on opshub@dhsc.gov.uk |
