Covid-positive nurses and healthcare staff should not attend work, and patients, staff and visitors should continue to wear face masks in helathcare settings, NHS England has said.
There will be ‘no immediate changes’ to infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance, NHS England confirmed, as the country moves into the ‘Living with Covid’ strategy from tomorrow.
In a letter sent to NHS services today, NHS England said it will write to staff ‘in the coming weeks’ with detail on testing protocols for staff and patients.
The Government announced its ‘Living with Covid’ plan on Monday, including that mandatory self-isolation for those who test positive will also no longer be legally enforceable from today.
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Free Covid testing for most of the population in England will also end from 1 April, except for the most elderly and vulnerable.
NHS England’s letter said: ‘There are no immediate changes to IPC requirements. This includes the requirement for staff, patients and visitors to wear a mask/face-covering in healthcare settings.
‘The consistent application of IPC measures, alongside the rollout of the vaccine programme and staff and patient testing, remains the most effective defence against the entry and spread of Covid-19 in healthcare settings.’
It added that healthcare staff who have tested positive for Covid ‘should not attend work until they have had two negative LFD test results taken 24 hours apart’ – with the first taken no earlier than day five after their initial positive test – and are ‘medically fit’.
This is in line with previous guidance, however, NHS England added that the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will publish updated guidance today.
GP practices ‘must ensure staff are not required to work if they test positive for Covid-19’ and that any staff member who must be ‘physically present’ to carry out their duties receives full pay for any period they cannot attend work due to public health advice, NHS England said.
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Meanwhile, the letter added that NHS England will write to practices ‘in the coming weeks with the specific detail of the various testing protocols for patients and staff’.
It said: ‘Current testing protocols should continue until further guidance is received. For now, NHS staff should continue to access their tests via the universal offer online until advised otherwise and community pharmacies will continue to provide a supply of tests until 31 March.
‘In extremis, regional testing leads will have a supply of tests to be accessed on an emergency basis provided to them by UKHSA.’
However, it added that NHS England ‘will communicate further about testing provision for NHS staff and patients as this is agreed with UKHSA and DHSC’.
Reporting twice-weekly asymptomatic Covid tests ‘remains a requirement’ whether a positive or negative result, it said.
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Nurses had been left in the dark over whether new self-isolation rules coming into force tomorrow apply to them.
A version of this story was originally published on Nursing in Practice‘s sister title Pulse.
