#TestAccessRights campaign: BASW Cymru responds to written statement on Covid-19 testing for health and care workers

The Welsh government has confirmed that social workers will be able to access Covid-19 testing twice a week, in order to enter care settings and discharge their statutory functions.

In a written statement, Vaughan Gething MS, Minister for Health and Social Services, said that health and care professionals in Wales - including social workers - will have access to lateral flow tests (LFTs), one of the new technologies developed through the UK mass testing programme to test frontline health and social care workers on a rapid and regular basis.

The programme will begin to roll out next week (14 December) and national Covid-19 guidance will be updated to reflect the details of the written statement.

National Director for Cymru, Allison Hulmes, said:

“We are grateful for the excellent campaign to ensure that social workers are able to finally access twice weekly lateral flow testing in order to enter care, hospital and community settings to protect rights and safeguard the most vulnerable members of society.

“We hope that the lateral flow testing, along with the use of other personal protective equipment, will reassure service users, carers, family members and care home managers that the highest levels of safety are being followed to facilitate professional face to face visits. We await the publication of guidance on how this will happen in practice.”