NHS England test and trace to cut 6,000 jobs but strengthen regional teams

[Northerner]

NHS test and trace is cutting 6,000 contact tracer jobs and allocating roles to regional teams to work with councils, following criticism by local authorities that the centrally run system was failing to tackle local outbreaks.

The government announced on Monday that local and national teams would work together to make sure they reach as many people as possible who have been in contact with someone who has coronavirus. The change means the number of national contact tracers will be reduced from 18,000 to 12,000 on 24 August.

Currently, a national system is used to contact those who are at risk of having contracted the virus, but the move means tracers will focus on specific areas, and if they cannot make contact with a resident within a set period of time, local public health officials can use the data provided by NHS test and trace to follow up.

This could mean councils sending tracers to knock on doors to tell people who cannot be reached by phone that they have been in contact with a coronavirus case, as has been done under pilot schemes.

NHS test and trace to cut 6,000 jobs but strengthen regional teams

Tracers to focus on specific areas and could be sent to knock on people’s doors

www.theguardian.com

Pretty much what public health officials have said right from the start, but the government thought they knew better and woldn't listen to anyone outside their bubble Millions of pounds of taxpayers money wasted and bunged to failed private companies

 

[grovesy]

exactly.

 

[mikeyB]

Could you amend your heading to NHS England, Northie. NHS Scotland has been using local Public Health teams from Day 1 of test, trace and isolate. Or at least, just as soon as they noticed that the English PM’s plan was madness, a gross error.

 

[Docb]

Don't just dump it on the PM, mikeyB. The whole lot of them were incompetent.

By the way, my pharmacist informant was saying it from the start. They suggest it should have been handed to the VD track and trace lot. They are very adept at getting stuff out of people. Skills finely honed when having to get somebody to divulge which of their friends partners they have been conjugating with.

 

[trophywench]

So, you know if you are at work, so isolating for 14 days would inconvenience your employer when he's only just been able to restart his business, so he ain't going to be happy, are you allowed to claim more than basic statutory sick pay whilst you are isolating? I do actually think hard cash has more than a teeny bit to do with some of it.

 

[Northerner]

Could you amend your heading to NHS England, Northie. NHS Scotland has been using local Public Health teams from Day 1 of test, trace and isolate. Or at least, just as soon as they noticed that the English PM’s plan was madness, a gross error.

Sorry @mikeyB, keep forgetting - keep reminding me and I'll remember eventually! 🙂

 

[Northerner]

So, you know if you are at work, so isolating for 14 days would inconvenience your employer when he's only just been able to restart his business, so he ain't going to be happy, are you allowed to claim more than basic statutory sick pay whilst you are isolating? I do actually think hard cash has more than a teeny bit to do with some of it.

Indeed, the UK government line all along has been that employers are benign and will bend at a moment's notice to the needs of employees - clearly none of them has ever experienced real working practices at the sharp end SSP might feed you, but probably only cold beans out of a can because you wouldn't be able to pay your rent and bills on it There ought to have been a plan to pay employees who are asked to self-isolate, but there is nothing of the kind - same for people returning from holidays, although that might be said to be a little different as people make a choice to go abroad. However, it doesn't give them any incentive to comply on return. Employers should be compensated also.

Although the government have spent/borrowed billions they have always had a very untargeted use of the money. As ever, they like to make big gestures but don't seemingly have the ability to think through the details (of anything)