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As part of the Government’s Coronavirus National Testing Programme, the Department of Health and Social Care has issued guidance expanding capacity for testing to frontline workers who are having to self-isolate due to having coronavirus like symptoms or because a member of their household has symptoms. Government departments, national agencies and local resilience forums now have discretion to refer other critical workers in their area for testing as determined by local need and available capacity. This will now include frontline workers in the private sector, with a focus on staff delivering key medical, energy, utility, transport and food supplies.

More detailed information on the types of workers who may now be eligible for testing can be found at www.gov.uk/coronavirus-get-tested

The ‘medical supply worker’ group is intended to include employees working in critical medicines, vaccine and medical devices staff, where those staff are self-isolating/symptomatic and where they can’t do their work from home. Life science sector workers will need to register prior to arriving for a test via the Medical supply and distribution (non-pharmacy) link.

Any medical supply sector employees who think they are eligible and need to be tested are being instructed to speak to their employer (ie as and when an employee requests a test).  Employers will be provided with information on how to make an appointment either via a local resilience forum (where the local region chooses to organise testing in this way), via your national government department/agency, or direct from the Department of Health and Social Care. Any employer that has any queries should contact their local resilience forum, national government department/agency, or the Department of Health and Social Care on opshub@dhsc.gov.uk

To access testing sites, staff are advised to bring their usual employer issued ID.  You will remember that the BIVDA produced a simple template letter for members to issue to staff when the Government designated that “those working as part of the health and social care supply chain” were critical workers.  This letter may also be useful to issue to relevant staff when accessing testing sites.  You can find this letter linked here. 

Please find attached more information about the expansion of the testing programme, including:

• Coronavirus National Testing Programme Strategy Summary
• Coronavirus Frontline Employer Briefing
• Coronavirus Frontline Worker invitation template

If you have any questions please do direct them to the ops centre opshub@dhsc.gov.uk.