Waste companies wanted for Covid testing pilots to help business resilience

NHS Test and Trace is seeking to run 4-week testing pilots in different types of workplace and would like companies across the waste sector to take part.

The objectives of the programme are to Protect, Find, Enable:

Protect: Those at highest risk, and to prevent transmission in high-consequence settings
Find: Positive cases to help prevent & reduce transmission in the community
Enable: Social and economic activities, including our most critical workers and with the private sector

The progress made to increase testing capacity means that the NHS team leading on this can now start opening up piloting to enable. This has been influenced by the introduction of Lateral Flow Devices (LFDs) – a testing technology that provides rapid results at point of care and removes the need for a laboratory. This makes testing in a workplace simpler and more immediately actionable.

Protocols for piloting mass testing approaches specifically within the context of workplaces using LFDs are now ready and as the waste management and renewable energy sectors are critical industries, the team are seeking to work with companies that are willing to set up regular testing programmes and will provide support to do this (e.g., some test kits and PPE for the pilot, access to the clinical guidelines and standard operating procedures, etc.)

Those that want to further engage, please connect with James Forsyth ([email protected]) who is leading the engagement with all private sector institutions.