COVID-19 treatment eligibility and testing in Adult Social Care
Dear Adult Social Care Providers
Info re. COVID-19 treatment eligibility and access to COVID-19 LFD test kits
At the beginning of April 2024, there were some changes in national guidance which meant that the groups of people eligible for COVID-19 treatments have greatly expanded.
The following information aims to summarise and clarify the new guidance on treatment eligibility and testing for COVID-19.
Who is eligible for COVID-19 treatments if they have symptoms and test positive for COVID-19 (LFD or PCR)?
Those with risk factors for progression to severe COVID‑19
Reference: section 5 Supporting information on risk factors for progression to severe COVID‑19 | Nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir, sotrovimab and tocilizumab for treating COVID-19 | Guidance | NICE
OR
People aged 85 years and over OR
People aged >70 years AND are resident in a care home or are already hospitalised OR
People who have a BMI of 35 kg/m2 or more, diabetes or heart failure AND are resident in a care home or are already hospitalised OR
People with end-stage heart failure who have a long-term ventricular assistance device OR
People on the organ transplant waiting list
Individuals will be identified as eligible for COVID-19 treatment by their registered GP or by their hospital specialist
If Adult Social Care Providers are unsure whether their clients/residents are eligible, they should ask the registered GPs in advance of the residents/clients becoming symptomatic
How do you access COVID-19 LFDs for those who are eligible for treatment?
Anyone who is eligible may pick up free LFD test kits at a local pharmacy. They should do this pre-emptively BEFORE they become symptomatic
For residents in adult social care settings, the care staff may provide a list of eligible people to their local pharmacy and pick up free LFD kits (in advance of needing them) for their residents/clients
Click on Find a pharmacy - NHS (www.nhs.uk)to see if a pharmacy is participating or you can ring your local pharmacy or look on their web profile on the ‘Find a Pharmacy’ pages on NHS.uk.
To see if a local pharmacy offers the service, you should type in your postcode to bring up a list of your nearby pharmacies. Click on the name of a pharmacy, and then click on ‘Treatments and services’ at the top. If the pharmacy has chosen to indicate they are offering the service, then it will say ‘COVID-19 lateral flow tests (eligible NHS patients)’ under the subheading ‘Screening and test services’.
NHS colleagues are working with NHS.uk to improve the functionality of these pages to make it easier for patients to see which of their local pharmacies are offering the service.
If you are still not able to find a participating pharmacy, Integrated Care Boards should hold a list of all pharmacies offering the service in their areas. ICB details can be found here local ICB
Adult Social Care Providers should hold at least a small stock of LFD kits ready for use in the event that someone/several people become/s symptomatic
How do you access COVID-19 treatment for those who are eligible ?
Local systems (ICBs) have until July 2024 to make arrangements for everyone who is eligible for treatment to be able to receive treatment as per the NICE guidelines published.
1 Recommendations | Nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir, sotrovimab and tocilizumab for treating COVID-19 | Guidance | NICE.You will be able access treatment for eligible person via the registered GP, NHS111 or the hospital specialist (note: UKHSA do not arrange treatment). Local pathways may be set up before then, and if so, your GP, NHS111 or hospital specialist will know what to do.
If your local system has not yet set up the arrangements for everyone who is eligible to receive treatment, then it is still worth carrying out an LFD test on symptomatic people who are eligible. This is because, in the event of an outbreak, it provides very useful information for yourselves and for the local UKHSA Health Protection Team when you report your outbreak to them. All acute respiratory infection outbreaks should be reported to the HPT using the online Care OBRA Tool https://forms.ukhsa.gov.uk/ReportAnOutbreak (please see further details in the attached document). Please try to test all eligible persons for COVID-19 before you fill in the Care OBRA.