30 March 2022

Member update – Covid testing in England

Following our Friday update, patient-facing staff delivering NHS care in England can continue to access lateral flow devices (LFDs) using the .gov.uk portal.

FODO, as part of OFNC, has been pressing for this and the decision was confirmed yesterday by the Department of Health and Social Care (here), with more detail provided today by NHS England (here).

From 1 April, key points for patient-facing staff delivering NHS primary eye care are:

• You should continue to test twice weekly when asymptomatic
• Symptomatic staff should test themselves using LFDs
• Those who test positive should continue to follow current return to work guidance
• Staff who are household contacts of a positive Covid-19 case will be able to continue to work if they remain asymptomatic and continue to test twice weekly - i.e., they will no longer require a PCR test to return to work.

NHS England is also working with the UK Health Security Agency to determine how routine asymptomatic testing should be stepped down in line with any decrease in prevalence rates. We will keep members up to date with developments.

Members who have any questions should email us at [email protected].