In contrast with the debacles of outsourced Test and Trace, this was a programme that had the NHS and clinicians in the front seat, driving it forward. Take the confusingly branded ‘NHS’ Test and Trace system ran by the likes of Serco, Amazon, Deloitte and G4S. Meanwhile, local public health teams, led by clinicians with knowledge and expertise in dealing with the wider health of their communities, were shut out of the process, not receiving the much-needed data required to help stop localised outbreaks in their tracks. The lack of engagement with local public health leaders was blamed for the slow response to rising cases in Leicester, for example, a city which has to all intents and purposes never left lockdown. We know that local public health clinicians working within their communities have the necessary local intelligence and skills to tackle flare-ups – as shown by figures comparing their success rates with outsourced call centres.

Source: Huffington Post February 16, 2021 06:03 UTC