Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

(asked on 1st June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what tests the test-and-trace system has undergone to ensure it is up to the standard necessary for a public launch; what level of training has been provided to contact tracers; and what oversight there is of the training of contact tracers.


Answered by
Nadine Dorries Portrait
Nadine Dorries
This question was answered on 18th June 2020

The Government launched its new NHS Test and Trace service on 28 May 2020. This includes enhanced contact tracing which brings together testing, contact tracing and outbreak management into an end-to-end service.

The platform used for contract tracing was subject to assurance through the NHS Test and Trace programme’s Design Authority and Technical Authority. This included review by the National Cyber Security Centre and independent IT health check assurance. We have an established system of online contact tracing – and local public experts who use contact tracing as part of local management of outbreaks – which we have supplemented with 25,000 dedicated contact tracing staff.

Contact tracers have received one day of initial training and then had further training in the week leading up to the launch on 28 May. Training materials have been provided by Public Health England (PHE) and are regularly updated based on discussions between the employers and PHE.

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