A Border disability support work chief executive has backed calls for free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests for everyone, after dealing with the repercussions of staff being furloughed.
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Peak advocacy organisation People with Disability Australia (PWDA) says the government should deliver free rapid antigen testing for the wider community, or at least to people with disability who are at risk of severe disease, their families and workers.
Social Plus Support Work chief executive Michael Thompson said he supported the call "100 per cent".
"PCR and RAT should be something that's available for everyone," he said.
"At the end of the day, to charge someone for a rapid antigen test, whether they can afford it or they cant, it is a bit of deterrent."
At the end of the day, to charge someone for a rapid antigen test, whether they can afford it or they cant, it is a bit of deterrent.
- Michael Thompson
Mr Thompson said the disability sector was already facing staffing shortages, but having staff unable to work due to being COVID-positive, at an exposure site or in contact with a positive case was even more challenging.
"It puts a lot of stress on our business in the way of ensuring staff are looked after," he said.
"And also the pressure of filling shifts to make sure our participants have the adequate support they require."
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Mr Thompson said blown out PCR test wait times meant staff were also having to isolate for longer periods of time and management staff had been working on the front line to cover staffing gaps.
"If a worker does come into close contact and is required to get a PCR, they're normally crossed off the roster for five days because we can't guarantee that their results are going to get back within that 24 - 48 hour period," he said.
"It puts a lot of stress on workers and that financial strain on an individual and then it goes one step further with whatever clients they've come into contact with."
PWDA president Samantha Connor said the government could look overseas for good models to follow.
"In the United Kingdom, a twice weekly preventative regime is in place to ensure that people with disability who receive care services are safe from COVID," she said.
"People with disability and their caregivers are able to access rapid antigen tests in the UK, including via mail, as part of a wider preventative regime of COVID-safe strategies."
Ms Connor said people with disability who are clinically vulnerable to COVID could die.
"It is imperative that Federal, State and Territory governments move immediately to make people with disability safe," she said.
"There is no time to waste.
"This is a critical emergency and the time for action is now."
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