CAMPAIGNERS have warned that clinically vulnerable patients will be forced to “return to some form of shielding” in April as routine access to free lateral flow tests comes to an end.
Cancer patients, transplant recipients and those with disabilities such as Down Syndrome, who are at high risk of complications from Covid, will only be able to order supplies of LFD tests if they are registered with the NHS as eligible for antiviral therapies against the disease.
Meanwhile, unpaid carers who look after sick or elderly relatives will have to buy home testing kits as they are not covered by free supplies which will be prioritised to hospital and care home staff.
A pack of five LFDs costs around £12.
Carers criticised the decision on Twitter as "baffling" and said it "minimises every sacrifice made by unpaid carers during this disaster".
The move comes after the UK Government slashed funding for testing - something the Scottish Government opposed.
Jo Nove, acting chief executive at blood cancer charity Myeloma UK - which represents around 2000 patients in Scotland - said it was "absolutely crucial" that clinically extremely vulnerable people along with their carers and household members continue to have access to the "safety net" of free LFDs.
She said: "Without access to free asymptomatic testing, many will feel they have little choice but to return to some form of shielding and will be forced to limit their contact with others.
"Meanwhile, their friends and family members will have to carry the burden that they could be exposing them to Covid-19, because they cannot afford to pay for a test."
There had been suggestions that LFDs would continue to be freely available to all adults over-75, but this is not the case.
It is also unclear whether LFDs will be widely available after April 18 to professional home carers, who are mostly employed by councils or private providers.
The Scottish Government said its priority for social care would "continue to be testing in long stay settings for elderly people such as residential care homes".
Testing for other social care staff, including unpaid carers, is "subject to ongoing clinical review".
In Scotland, stocks of free LFDs for the general population will stop being available from pharmacies at the end of March, and online from April 18.
They will be available temporarily, until the end of April, for close contacts of a positive case, but from May 1 the kits will be rationed to hospital-based NHS staff, care workers, visitors to care homes and hospitals, and testing "for clinical care".
READ MORE: Facemasks legally required in Scotland until April
The latter, according to the 'Transition Plan' published by the Scottish Government on Tuesday, will be limited to pre-operative testing for patients due to go into hospital and to "those who are eligible for antiviral treatments".
This covers a wide range of conditions, including cancers, HIV, kidney or liver disease, Down syndrome, organ and stem cell transplant recipients, and neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease,
Antivirals have been shown to substantially reduce rates of Covid-related hospitalisation for the highest risk patients as long as they are taken soon after symptom onset.
Patients aged 12 and over who believe they may be eligible should contact their local health board for assessment.
Those considered suitable will be able to continue using the home order channel - online or by telephone - for free deliveries of LFDs, which should be used if they develop possible Covid symptoms.
Patients who report a positive LFD will receive either home delivery of oral antivirals - which they can begin taking immediately - or a hospital appointment for an infusion of monoclonal antibodies.
Antiviral treatments and vaccinations are seen as the main line of defence against Covid as testing is wound down.
PCR sites in the community are set to close from May 1, after which people with possible Covid symptoms in the general population will no longer get a PCR test.
Although they will still be advised to stay home, they will not have access to free LFDs to monitor infectiousness or to self-isolation support grants if they are on a low income.
On Tuesday, Nicola Sturgeon said she understood that people who are immunosuppressed or have other high risk conditions "are concerned about high case rates at a time when regulations are being eased", but stressed that "very significant protection is provided by vaccination".
READ MORE: One in three patients hospitalised with Covid aged over-75
Second boosters will be rolled out to immunosuppressed patients from mid-April - coinciding with an end to the universal LFD offer - with over-75s to be offered the top-up jags from next week.
Elderly care home residents began receiving theirs last week.
There has been growing concern over waning immunity among older adults with the virus now at record levels and over-75s accounting for 35 per cent of Covid hospital admissions in the most recent week.
Many will be substantially less protected against hospitalisation now than at Christmas, when most over-75s were recently boosted.
At four to six months, protection falls to an estimated 75-85% compared to 80-95% in the first three months.
Second boosters can only be given 24 weeks after a previous dose, but Brian Sloan, chief executive of Age Scotland, said they would give over-75s "more confidence to get out and about in their daily lives".
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said high levels of immunity from vaccination and new Covid treatments mean that Test and Protect "will now focus on protecting those in highest risk settings and to support patient treatment and care".
She added: “We will also monitor prevalence and risk of new variants, whilst ensuring we can respond to outbreaks and future health threats.
“Unpaid carers continue to make a huge contribution, as they have done throughout the pandemic, and as long as we are asking them to test themselves they will have access to free LFDs.
"Our testing for social care pathways have been led by clinical advice and will be continually reviewed as we move through the transition period.”
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