There was some positive news released last week by NHSI saying that nurses traveling to NHS trust were no longer required to undergo government quarantine IF they meet certain restriction requirements. These travel and quarantine updates for nurses traveling to NHS Trusts could be a big relief to both the employer and the nurses.
However, the guidance is strict and may require Trusts to manage their nurse quarantines in a different way than they have done to date.
Below we have summarized the key takeaways on the travel and quarantine updates for your convenience. More detailed guidance can be found on gov. uk.
Travel Groups
- As per NHS definition of “travel group”, a cohort of recruited nurses traveling together on the same flight from and/or through red-listed countries to the UK CAN quarantine together and share facilities.
- Regardless of cohort sizes for flights, travel group numbers should not be larger than six (6) individuals on arrival in the UK.
- Throughout the quarantine, nurses should observe social distancing, wear face coverings in communal areas, and stay separate from other travel groups.
- Quarantine accommodations include rented or leased accommodations but not a hotel and other public accommodation.
Transport
- Individuals and travel groups must use secure private transport from the airport to the accommodation.
- The use of coaches or minibuses are to ensure social distancing from the driver (there must be a 3-row gap between the driver and the passengers)
- The use of private cars and taxis is on an “exceptional basis” only.
Assurance from trust
- Ensure that all quarantine processes are in place and a risk assessment has been conducted and signed off by the Trust’s Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Lead and Director of Nursing before hosting nurses from red-list countries.
- There must be a regular review of the risk assessment.
Responsibility of the nurse
- Trust must ensure that each nurse is aware of their personal responsibility to quarantine effectively under the guidance and does not leave quarantine (even to receive /post PCR test on days 2 and 8) or mix with other travel groups. See Full guidance here: How to quarantine when you arrive in England.
- Before they depart, nurses should have relevant information for them to have a concrete understanding of the rules.
How to apply for exemption
- Trust will need to provide a PDF letter of exemption to the nurse as proof of exemption at check-in and Border Control when they arrive in England. A Template will be provided.
- The letter should indicate the Trust’s letterhead and up-to-date trust contact information for Border Control.
- If there is no letter or there is an issue and information is erroneous or incomplete, the nurse will be fined £2000.
Risks
• There is a risk that carriers will not allow nurses to board if they have not bought the MQS package. This is due to the potential for a £2,000 fine for breaches and the Passenger Locator Form requires an update to take into account these changes.
Nurses need to be aware of this risk in advance of traveling.
Mitigations
- Ensure that nurses have the letter from the Trust with a note to carriers informing them of the new rules and links to Government sources.
- Where agencies have a relationship with the carriers – give them advance notice.
To simplify, we should all be cautious of the “things that are not allowed”:
- Accommodating nurses together from the same country but who have arrived on different flights
- Accommodating nurses together from different countries but arriving at the same time
- Hotels, taxis, and private cars
- Groups of more than six (6) residing together
- Mixing with other groups during the quarantine period, including those who are not quarantining.
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Photo Credit: Karolina Grabowska