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Watching @NicolaSturgeon #FMQs the continual questions on #COVID__19 testing are legitimate but fail to show any deeper understanding of the fact the result does not instantaneously follow the test.
Testing every patient who is a delayed discharge (which means they should not be in hospital based on a clinical decision) on a Monday, and getting those results back on Tuesday or Wednesday, still would have presented a window for a new infection to be acquired.
Let’s imagine we have a different scenario where we had capacity to test everyone pre-discharge.
If you test at 9am on Monday - what happens if the person is then exposed to the virus on Tuesday at 9am.
If you test at 9am on Monday - what happens if the person is then exposed to the virus on Tuesday at 9am.
The Monday test is then meaningless. However, you get the test back on Tuesday afternoon as negative and so deem them suitable for discharge.
The patient waits for transport to the care home. This presents further time in a hospital setting in which to potentially pick up the infection.
The patient reaches the care home. We’ve been assured by the negative test that they don’t have the virus. Less stringent infection control measures are implemented as we’ve psychologically accepted that this person can’t possibly be infected as they had a negative test.
The patient has still not shown any symptoms. They are in the care home from Tuesday until Friday.
It’s now Friday, 4 days after the negative test. The patient develops a cough. They are now isolated and PPE used as per the guidelines at the time. They have had COVID since Monday. This has now spread to other residents. Was that blanket test really that useful?
It is impossible to test someone in a hospital setting and then completely isolate them to such a degree that there is no risk of them picking up the infection. This line of questioning is just ridiculous.
