• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Plea to remember ‘NHS’ track & trace is ‘outsourced’ as Dido Harding insists it’s working despite missed targets

"People sadly refer to this as the ‘NHS’ track and trace system. But the truth is it is led by Dido Harding and was outsourced to a private company."

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2020-09-10 15:23
in News
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Dido Harding has insisted the track and trace system is working, despite more missed targets and the number of close contacts being reached falling to a record low.

The NHS Million group pleaded on Twitter to not blame the NHS for failures of the system, they Tweeted: “People sadly refer to this as the ‘NHS’ track and trace system. But the truth is it is led by Dido Harding and was outsourced to a private company. Please RT so everyone can understand who is really responsible for this omnishambles.”

Serco and Sitel, the two private firms hired to handle the national test and trace programme, are due to receive over £1bn for their work on the scheme. Serco receives 40% of its overall income from contracts running UK public services, according to The Justice Gap.

Despite the concerns and calls from experts to redirect resources to the local public health teams, ministers renewed Serco’s contract to operate the call centres last month. Labour accused the government of “rewarding failure” by renewing the £300m deal, arguing that it was “ineffective and not fit for purpose”. 

Failed

Professor Anthony Costello, a former director of maternal and child health at the World Health Organisation and former director of UCL’s Institute for Global Health, said: “The whole thing is public health malpractice and it’s being designed [and] led by government ideology. They wanted a private system; it has failed, and we need to keep saying that.”

The private sector is likely to become even more entwined with the system due to the Government’s Moonshot plans to undertake 10 million covid-19 tests a day by early next year as part of a huge £100bn (€110bn; $130bn) expansion of its national testing programme

Leaked documents reveal a heavy reliance on the private sector to achieve the mass testing and give details of “letters of comfort” that have already been signed with companies to reach three million tests a day by December. Firms named are GSK for supplying tests, AstraZeneca for laboratory capacity, and Serco and G4S for logistics and warehousing.

RelatedPosts

Mick Lynch makes rapturous speech as Enough is Enough gathers momentum

Britain is suffering the worst inflation crisis in the G7

Victory for Burnham as Manchester bus fares capped at £2 for adults and £1 for children

Labour membership down 91,000 under Starmer

People sadly refer to this as the ‘NHS’ track and trace system.

But the truth is it is led by Dido Harding and was outsourced to a private company.

Please RT so everyone can understand who is really responsible for this omnishambles. https://t.co/Wh9hy9Br8s

— NHS Million 💙 (@NHSMillion) September 9, 2020

Weekly figures

Figures show the system has recorded the highest weekly number of positive tests since it was launched at the end of May.

A total of 9,864 new people tested positive for Covid-19 in England in the week to September 2, an increase of 43% in positive cases on the previous week.

But the statistics, published by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on Thursday, show just over two-thirds (69.2%) of close contacts of people who tested positive were reached through the system that week.

That figure is down slightly from 69.8% in the previous week, is the lowest weekly percentage since Test and Trace was launched and once again falls short of the Government’s 80% target.

POLITICS Coronavirus
(PA Graphics)

Some 61.9% of people who were tested for Covid-19 in England in the week ending September 2 at a regional site or mobile testing unit – a so-called “in-person” test – received their result within 24 hours.

This is up from 53.3% in the previous week, but down from 63.4% in the week to August 12 and misses the Government target, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson having pledged that by the end of June, the results of all in-person tests would be back within 24 hours.

Local health protection teams continued to perform better in reaching contacts, with cases handled by them reaching 96.6% of contacts and asking them to self-isolate in the week to September 2.

Call centres

By contrast, for those cases handled either online or by call centres, 61.3% of close contacts were reached and asked to self-isolate.

On a local level, the figures show just 42% of contacts have been reached for Test and Trace cases in Bradford handled online or by call centres – the lowest proportion for any local authority area in England.

For cases in Peterborough, 46% of contacts have been reached, for Blackburn with Darwen the figure is 48%, and for Kirklees and Nottingham the figure is 49%.

These figures are just for “non-complex cases” – cases handled online or by call centres – and cover the 14 weeks of Test and Trace from May 28 to September 2.

Despite the latest figures, Baroness Dido Harding, who is interim executive chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said the system is working.

POLITICS Coronavirus
(PA Graphics)

She said: “NHS Test and Trace is working and every week we consistently reach the majority of people testing positive and their contacts.

Passed virus

“We have now reached almost 360,000 people who may be at risk of unknowingly passing on the virus, helping to curb its spread.

“We are doing more testing for the British public than other comparable European countries and we are adding thousands more tests a day.”

But she made a plea to people without symptoms or those who have not been advised to get a test, saying: “For those who don’t have symptoms or haven’t been told they must have a test, we would please ask you to reconsider as it could be taking a test away from someone who really needs it.”

On Wednesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there had been an increase in demand among people not eligible for tests in recent weeks.

DHSC said it was updating its guidance on testing eligibility on Thursday, to make it clear only those with symptoms or who have been asked to get a test should apply for one through the NHS system.

Related – Dido Harding blames demand for people driving over 100 miles for Covid test

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Vaccines having ‘spectacular’ impact of vaccines on serious illness, data shows

Brexit sent UK salmon exports to EU tumbling by 98 per cent in January

So who was it? Minister denies being source of second lockdown leak

ZOMBIE DRUG WARNING – “Highly addictive” new drug sweeping America

Leaked documents show the UK is recklessly at risk of jumping into Trump’s arms

Farmer who became poster boy for Leave in Northern Ireland says he now regrets his decision

Brexit continues to hit UK’s trade with EU, figures show

Jeremy Corbyn named the most popular leader of the past century among Labour members

Universities warn losing EU research scheme is ‘political self-harm’

Retirees in Britain are financially secure, but will any of it benefit the younger generation?

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.