Free Covid tests will still be available to certain groups including NHS workers and vulnerable patients when universal testing is scrapped, the government has revealed.
Most people in England will have to pay for lateral flow tests from Friday as coronavirus begins to be treated like other respiratory infections.
Some NHS and social care workers will continue to get free tests when they don’t have symptoms – but only when there are high rates of infection in the community.
Staff or residents of ‘high-risk settings’ who have symptoms will also not be asked to pay – including some care home and hospice staff and residents, NHS workers and prison staff.
Hospital patients who have symptoms of the virus will be tested without charge under new plans revealed by ministers.
The new guidance also includes those discharged from hospitals into care homes, hospices, homelessness settings and domestic abuse refuges.
Meanwhile, people at risk of severe Covid will be sent lateral flow tests to keep at home for use if they have symptoms.
However, most people visiting adult social care settings, the NHS, prisons and places of detention will no longer be required to test.
People who are eligible for free tests in England
– Hospital patients who have symptoms of Covid. These patients will be given lab tests in hospital where it is required for their care or to support ongoing surveillance of the virus.
– People who are at risk of severe Covid-19 who have symptoms. These people might be eligible for Covid-19 treatments which help alleviate their symptoms. People in this group will be sent lateral flow tests to keep at home for use if they have symptoms.
– Some workers or residents of “high risk settings” who have symptoms. This includes some care home and hospice staff and residents, NHS workers and prison staff. People will also be tested before being discharged from hospital into care homes, hospices, homelessness settings and domestic abuse refuges.
– Some NHS and social care staff will continue to get free tests when they don’t have symptoms when there are high rates of infection in the community.
Health leaders have welcomed the ‘11th hour’ announcement that staff will not be required to pay for tests when Covid rages through the community.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has named it ‘a victory for common sense’.
‘As rates of coronavirus and hospital admissions continue to be high and with one in 16 people in England believed to have the virus currently, stripping this access from those who care for some of the most vulnerable in our society would have been a massive error’, he said.
But Mr Taylor and others warn that clarity is needed over the funding for the tests.
Patricia Marquis, director for England for the Royal College of Nursing, said: ‘Nursing staff require access to free testing because many work in close proximity with clinically vulnerable people and we need to prevent hospitals and other care settings from becoming a place where Covid-19 spreads easily.
‘Tight NHS and care budgets should not be asked to cover these costs – the Government must continue to show its support for healthcare workers.’
Scotland and Northern Ireland will have some free testing on offer in April, while the cut-off point is July in Wales.
Testing can be ramped up again if a concerning new variant emerges, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
But the government has warned £15.7 billion was spent on testing, tracing and isolation in 2021/22 – something described as ‘a significant cost’ to the taxpayer.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘Thanks to our plan to tackle Covid we are leading the way in learning to live with the virus. We have made enormous progress but will keep the ability to respond to future threats including potential variants.
‘Vaccines remain our best defence and we are now offering spring boosters to the elderly, care home residents and the most vulnerable – please come forward to protect yourself, your family and your community.’
