NEWS | Industry Updates New guidance on worker/employee COVID-19 testing


The Automatic Vending Association (AVA) has advised that the Department of Health and Social Care has recently introduced updated guidance on worker / employee coronavirus (COVID-19) testing.


If you are an essential worker who is self-isolating, you can now


apply for you and your household to get tested for coronavirus (COVID-19). Originally vending was covered as “critical personnel in the


production and distribution of food, drink and essential goods, including those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery”. Key worker testing is now being extended to anyone with symptoms who is: • over 65 • must leave home to go to work • and their households An individual can apply here: https://self-referral.test-for-


coronavirus.service.gov.uk/ Details of how to use the portal can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk


Employer referral As an employer you can nominate a list of personnel to be tested. The employer referral portal allows employers to refer essential


workers who are self-isolating either because they or member(s) of their household have coronavirus symptoms, for testing. It is a secure portal for employers to use to upload the full list of names and contact details of self-isolating essential workers. If referred through this portal, essential workers will receive a


text message with a unique invitation code to book a test for themselves (if symptomatic) or their symptomatic household member(s) at a regional testing site. In order to obtain a login, employers of essential workers should email portalservicedesk@dhsc.gov.uk with: • organisation name • nature of the organisation’s business • region • names (where possible) and email addresses of the two users who will load essential worker contact details


Once employer details have been verified, two login credentials will be issued for the employer referral portal. https://www.the-ava.com/covid-19/


Suzohapp donates surgical masks to MPAC Healthcare


Suzohapp, the specialist in payment systems and cash management solutions, has donated a supply of 6,000 surgical masks to MPAC Healthcare, an organisation that provides primary care and mental health services primarily focused on skilled-nursing homes, to aid in their frontline service against the COVID-19 virus. Data has shown that older people and people with multiple


co-morbidities tend to have more severe symptoms if they contract COVID–19. Residents of nursing homes tend to be frailer, have more functional limitations and have more chronic and complex conditions than other older adults. In addition, nursing home residents often require help with things like using the toilet, getting in and out of bed and getting dressed, meaning essential person-to-person interactions must still occur with residents and staff becoming more likely than other people to spread the virus to one another. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) can help mitigate


those risks but with most supplies being sent to hospitals, the nursing home supply has been significantly diminished. Suzohapp’s assembly staff traditionally wear surgical


masks when using tools and chemicals to assemble products. “We believe very strongly that, during times like these, it is important to be a positive contributor to your community. It was clear to us that the needs of these medical professionals far outweighed our needs and that we had an opportunity to do some real good helping those that are most vulnerable,” says Francois Profit, executive vice president of automated services in Europe. Suzohapp’s contribution will allow the team to continue to focus on providing the best care possible while also keeping the nurse practitioners and licensed clinical social workers safe.


4 | vendinginternational-online.com


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