Worst week yet for NHS Test and Trace after targets missed

TEST and Trace has recorded its worst week yet, with experts warning its failure is making more draconian measures increasingly likely.

Just 62.6 per cent of contacts of people who tested positive for Covid-19 were reached in the seven days up to October 7, a drop from 68.6 per cent the previous week.

The stark difference in performance between local tracing teams and those at the national call centres was reinforced by the latest data, with a reach rate of 97.7 and 57.6 respectively.

It came as Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, resisted calls to allow local teams to take over tracing efforts, arguing that the “teamwork” between the two arms was working well. The row follows the revelation that consultants hired to advise the ailing system are earning up to £6,250 a day.

The latest data show 89,874 people tested positive for Covid-19 in England in the week to October 7 – a 64 per cent rise in positive cases on the previous seven days. It is the highest weekly number since Test and Trace was launched at the end of May.

When it comes to turnaround times for test results, there has been a slight week-on-week improvement.

Some 32.6 per cent of people who were tested for Covid-19 in England in the week ending October 7 at a regional site, local site or mobile testing unit – an in-person test – received their result within 24 hours. However, the turnaround times for home testing kits and at satellite testing centres have slipped.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital bosses, said: “It’s deeply unfortunate that at this point with infections rising, admissions increasing and winter looming, there’s still clearly a long way to go until our test and trace system is fit for purpose.

It is good to see a high proportion of positive cases transferred into the system, but this must be done in a timely manner, and success also depends on reaching them and their contacts, and then compliance with the need to selfisolate.”

Lord Bethell, the health minister, said: “Since the service launched, NHS Test and Trace has now reached over 900,000 people, and 8.3 million people have been tested at least once.”