Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 11 November 2020
I begin by acknowledging the incredible efforts of our NHS and care staff, who continue to be on the front line caring for patients with Covid-19 and working to prevent further spread in hospitals and care homes. This debate is not abstract for me; I have family and friends doing those crucial jobs, as do others in the chamber, and I am hugely grateful to them for all that they do under really difficult circumstances. Current estimates from the Care Inspectorate are that more than 53,000 staff work in care homes for adults, compared with more than 71,000 staff who work in care at home. As we have heard, weekly testing is offered to all care home staff, regardless of whether they have symptoms or whether there is an on-going outbreak in their care home.
The Scottish Government has implemented routine testing for healthcare workers where the evidence says that it is appropriate to do so, but there are social care staff who cannot currently access routine testing. They include staff providing care at home; supported living and housing support services; palliative care; support and care for children and young people; support for people with no homes or dealing with addiction issues; and respite and day services, although not all those services are running at the moment.
The safety of those workers, as well as of the people who are in their care, must be paramount. It is important to acknowledge, as the briefing from CCSP does, that third sector providers kept infection rates to a minimum from March through to the end of August without routine testing, through careful risk assessment and use of infection prevention and control. Routine testing is important, but it is only part of the picture. I understand and support the calls for it—it intuitively feels like the right thing to do—but it absolutely must be led by evidence. It is important to remember that testing provides a single-point-in-time assessment of whether someone has the virus; it does not mean that they will not go on to develop the virus.