You should follow the UKHSA guidance [page five] for recognising and reporting infectious outbreaks, including COVID-19.
View the UKHSA winter readiness guidance
Report outbreaks to your local health protection team (HPT)
Your local Health Protection Team (HPT) can provide guidance if there is an outbreak in
your care home (including advising whether additional testing and antivirals are indicated).
Our contact details are:
• Phone: 0344 225 3861
• Email (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm): SE.AcuteResponse@ukhsa.gov.uk
When to call
Please contact us if:
- two or more residents or staff are unwell with flu-like illness and have tested negative for COVID-19 on LFD or PCR, or
- you are informed of a case of confirmed flu in a resident (for example if they are tested because of a hospital admission). Whilst you may not have an outbreak, we can talk you through general control measures and what you need to do if there are further cases, or
- you have an outbreak or diarrhoea or vomiting.
If you have an outbreak of COVID-19 in your care home (residents or staff with positive COVID tests), you do not need to report this to your HPT if you are confidence of the steps you need to take in line with published national guidance. However, please contact us if any of the following apply:
- significant increases in number of cases of COVID-19 (or if you are concerned the outbreak is not under control)
- hospitalisations of staff or residents due to outbreak
- deaths
- staffing difficulties due to numbers of staff isolating
- press interest
- difficult in applying the outbreak control measures