A care home in Wandsworth Common is one of the first in the UK to administer visitors with 15-minute COVID-19 antigen tests before seeing residents.

Signature Senior Lifestyle says this will provide further reassurance, allowing communities to retain a sense of normality through safe visits.

Signature is initially trialling the tests for relatives of those at its Wandsworth Common care home, which has recorded zero cases of COVID-19.

Relatives will take the test their car before entering the care home via a separate entrance.

Afterwards, the visit will be socially distanced and require personal protective equipment, however, with no plastic dividing screens.

Kay Cox, COO of Signature Senior Lifestyle, said:

“Our regular testing has worked well so far but we are continually looking for ways to go one step further. The health and safety of our residents, families and staff remains our number one priority, so we have made the decision to invest in 15-minute tests to further bolster our capabilities, providing almost immediate reassurance.

"This is a challenging time for all and we truly understand how much visits mean to residents and their loved ones, so we are doing everything in our power to allow these to take place with dignity and a sense of normality.”

Signature will also carry out the antigen tests on their visitors who provide the residents with entertainment, so that its activity and wellbeing programmes can continue within Public Health England guidelines.