Rapid PCR test a ‘game changer’

Whiddon is breaking new ground by trialling a rapid PCR unit – the first aged care provider to test the technology in Australia.

Aged care provider Whiddon has a history of adopting innovative solutions to the unique challenges faced by COVID. In July last year – during the Delta outbreak – the not-for-profit organisation conducted a self-funded rapid antigen testing trial, the results of which prompted the Federal Government to hold RAT trials of its own.

Now Whiddon is again breaking new ground by trialling a rapid PCR unit – the first aged care provider to test the technology in Australia. Preliminary reports show the shoebox-sized device – only one of two units in the country during the trial period – to be more than 99 per cent accurate. And by delivering results in just 90 minutes, the units eliminate the need for laboratory testing.

“It’s a game changer,” Whiddon CEO Chris Mamarelis told Australian Ageing Agenda. “It’s a game changer from a resident care perspective, it’s a game changer from a management perspective and, of course, it’s helping providers to manage their own risk.”

Throughout the pandemic, Whiddon’s staff have been having to undergo pathology PCR tests – a tedious process that can take up to five or six days, which means furloughing staff. “We’ve lost a lot of valuable people and lost a lot of valuable hours out of our roster that we can’t afford,” said Mr Mamarelis.

Having a unit that gives you a PCR quality test within a relatively short space of time “changes the whole dynamic,” he said. “You have control, you have speed [and] you have accuracy. That’s a better outcome for everyone involved; providers, employees, residents and their families.”

Chris Mamarelis

From a staffing perspective, said Mr Mamarelis, the rapid PCR “reduces the pressure, the risk and the impact of sending people to a pathology test”. Over the eight-week trial period at Whiddon Easton Park in Glenfield, Mr Mamarelis estimates the facility was able to add an extra 3,000 hours to its roster.

Then there’s the resident care perspective. “There could be interventions in health and care strategies that can be acquired more rapidly because the knowledge is gained almost instantly,” he said.

The UK technology also has the potential to provide considerable benefits to regional aged care providers. “We’ve experiences where [PCR] tests have been flown to Sydney and other major areas out of our regions and there are huge delays,” said Mr Mamarelis. “In one case, the person was coming out of isolation by the time the result was received.”

As with the rapid antigen tests, Government support is crucial. “Every aged care home in Australia needs one of these devices,” said Mr Mamarelis. And he said they need to be subsidised. “It’s really important the Commonwealth take note of our trial, takes note of the technology.”

It’s hoped the rapid PCR units will become TGA approved and rolled out across the country in months. “We really need them,” said Mr Mamarelis. “We can’t afford to lose any more time.”

Main image: Chris Mamarelis and operations manager Sharon Fletcher with a rapid PCR unit

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Tags: chris mamarelis, covid, rapid PCR test, whiddon,

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