Care Home Chaos: Faulty Covid Tests Leave Residents in Limbo
The Brakenlea Care Home in Shawford, near Winchester, is at breaking point. Owned by Brookvale Healthcare, the home houses 25 residents in single rooms. But instead of peace of mind, they’re battling a nightmare over dodgy Covid-19 tests supplied by Randox and paid for by taxpayers at a staggering £120 each.
Test Fiasco Puts Residents at Risk
Back in May, a batch of Randox test kits had to be scrapped after being labelled unsafe. Then a courier collected replacements, only for every test result to come back void. The horror didn’t stop there. On May 27th, another set of tests was picked up – but the lab claimed they were lost without a trace.
Come October 8th, the care home handed over 35 tests for collection, but no courier showed. Forced to call Public Health England, the home was told to bin the tests in yellow biohazard containers onsite.
Traumatic Testing for Vulnerable Residents
Testing in care homes isn’t straightforward. Residents, many with dementia, can’t always grasp what’s happening. Staff must perform throat swabs – a tricky and uncomfortable procedure that requires patients to keep their mouths wide open. Advanced dementia or frailty makes this a tough ask.
Co-ordinator Stef revealed: “As a care home we are doing everything we can to keep our staff and residents safe but feel we are being let down by these testing companies.”
“We are now stuck with a box of void Covid tests which we can’t just dispose. We have contacted Public Health England for advice and are waiting a call back.”
“This is frustrating as our residents have dementia and having a Covid test can be traumatic to them and they can become agitated.”
“As a member of staff I spent a long time doing these tests individually, packing them and submitting them in line. Not only was my time wasted, but a lot of PPE too. This isn’t the first time we’ve had issues with faulty or void tests.”
Randox Silent as Frustration Grows
Randox has been approached for comment but has refused to address individual cases. Public Health England states there is a separate testing service for care home residents and staff, who don’t need coronavirus symptoms to get tested.
Meanwhile, Brakenlea Care Home faces mounting challenges trying to safeguard its most vulnerable – all while grappling with costly, chaotic testing failures.
