Changes to COVID-19 testing on hospital discharge

Winter is approaching and this means there is likely to be a rise in COVID-19 across Devon.

The previous guidance around testing for COVID-19 and hospital discharge was that testing was always carried out, by the hospital, before discharge was arranged.

As of April 2024, this guidance has now changed. Following the success of the vaccination programme, there has been a national decision to scale back testing, and to remove specific COVID-19 guidance; COVID-19 is now defined as part of a list of viral acute respiratory infections (ARI), alongside influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

As a result of these changes, COVID-19 testing is no longer routinely required on discharge of asymptomatic patients to care settings. There may be occasions where testing remains appropriate, such as if the patients’ ward is experiencing an outbreak. If you have any concerns about a discharge, please contact the hospital discharge team in the first instance for a discussion.

If you need further information or wish to discuss further, please contact the ICB IPC team at d-icb.ipc@nhs.net and your query will be directed appropriately.

The April 2024 national guidance update can be found in the links below:

Infection prevention and control (IPC) in adult social care: acute respiratory infection (ARI)

COVID-19: testing from 1 April 2024

Council guidance on discharge and infection: 

Infection Risk Assessment Guide for care homes admitting patients with infections  (swcouncils.gov.uk)

UKHSA Care Home and Residential Care Guidance - South West Councils (swcouncils.gov.uk)