NHS test and trace ‘failed its main objective’, says spending watchdog

[Northerner]

The government’s flagship test-and-trace system has failed to achieve “its main objective” to cut infection levels and help Britain return to normal despite being handed an “eye-watering” £37bn in taxpayers’ cash, the Commons spending watchdog has warned.

NHS test and trace was set up in May last year as the UK emerged from the first lockdown. It was led by Dido Harding, a Conservative peer and businesswoman who previously worked for Tesco and TalkTalk. She was appointed by the then health secretary, Matt Hancock, who praised her “brilliant” work on the pandemic.

In a damning report, the public accounts committee concluded that NHS test and trace “has not achieved its main objective to help break chains of Covid-19 transmission and enable people to return towards a more normal way of life” despite receiving about 20% of the NHS’s entire annual budget – £37 bn – over two years.

NHS test and trace ‘failed its main objective’, says spending watchdog

Commons committee says system failed in cutting infection levels despite ‘eye-watering’ £37bn funding

www.theguardian.com

 

[nonethewiser]

Lets face it whole thing was shambles start to finish, 37bn not well spent.

 

[Northerner]

Lets face it whole thing was shambles start to finish, 37bn not well spent.

I think what is particularly appalling is that they spent all that money and then they turn round and say there's no money for health and social care so we're putting up NI, and we can't afford to keep giving the £6bn a year UC uplift to poor families - oh, and we can only afford 10% of what is needed for the education catch-up program And what was the point of building the Nightingales and not using them because they didn't have the staff? Billions upon billions wasted because they didn't have a clue what they were doing and just outsourced all the problems to their dodgy mates You expect mistakes to be made, but there was failure at every turn apart from the vaccines, and I'm guessing they just got lucky with that one.

 

[trophywench]

You expect mistakes to be made, but there was failure at every turn apart from the vaccines, and I'm guessing they just got lucky with that one.

Just TG they did, the latter.

 

[Eddy Edson]

You expect mistakes to be made, but there was failure at every turn apart from the vaccines, and I'm guessing they just got lucky with that one.

After a great start, vax performance has actually been pretty drab, comparatively.

 

[Stuvart]

Yep its a shambles BUT if people don't use it it can't track/trace others.

 

[trophywench]

We went on a motorhome rally in September and the organisers required us to do LFTs before going so we did. Both negative so we reported our results to T&T and went on the rally . It is assumed that had anyone tested positive they would not have gone - but nobody checked or even said eg 'Do not come if you have a positive result!' Totally bats.

 

[Northerner]

If only - £37bn cheaper and just as effective... 😱

 

[trophywench]

Aaah - but you can't easily get proper string any more, can you?

 

[mikeyB]

The only thing that was gotten right was the vaccination creation and program. Good job it was created without government interference, and distribution entirely controlled by the NHS. Nothing to do with government. Can you imagine Dido Warbling running it?

 

[nonethewiser]

If only - £37bn cheaper and just as effective... 😱

View attachment 18952

Great memories, didn't need expensive toys with creative minds. Fav activity was building bogeys, would pinch timber nails from local building sites & use old pram wheels from rubbish tip.

Aaah - but you can't easily get proper string any more, can you?

You can, have ball of it in shed.

 

[trophywench]

Oh, I rather seem to have omitted the ROFLMAO emoji ......