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Test and Trace bosses believe they need to “rebuild public trust” and are planning a pre-Christmas push to bail out the troubled service, according to leaked slides seen by Sky News.
The documents, shown during a video call hosted by some of Test and Trace’s senior executives, reveal deep concern within the English contact-tracing organization about its image and performance.
In addition to rebuilding public trust, executives believe they need to “reestablish” their relationship with city councils, which has been strained since the service was launched.
The slides reveal that Test and Trace has ‘mobilized’ 27 ‘workflows’
Test and Trace director Baroness Dido Harding has argued that the service is working well with city councils and engaging the public effectively.
But the slides, showing what Test and Trace bosses call “the road to Christmas,” tell a different story.
They show that Test and Trace bosses are aware of the public and local officials’ mistrust of the national contact tracing service, which has been repeatedly criticized for its poor performance.
However, while the slides reveal that Test and Trace has “mobilized” 27 “workflows” to reinvent the service as part of a “countdown to Christmas,” you might wonder why the measurements are only shown for contact tracers today: two weeks. in a national lockdown that was supposed to buy time for Test and Trace to improve.
The slides reveal that Test and Trace will feature “strategic communications,” “incentives,” and a “citizen advisory group” to rebuild public trust.
Test and Trace also plans to “reestablish our relationship with local authorities,” although the slides only refer to one measure designed to achieve this, the existing containment framework, which covers local responses to the coronavirus.
The slides reveal deep concern within the English contact tracing organization.
The slides call for a “sea change” in the speed of the service, which according to official figures does not meet any of its response time targets.
Boris Johnson admitted last month that he shared “people’s frustrations” at the time the evidence was processed.
Test and Trace’s other priorities include increasing the size of the service and its data usage. The service was widely criticized after it briefly lost tens of thousands of cases following confusion with an Excel spreadsheet.
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The slides say that the “Road to Christmas” program is “intended to ensure that all staff working on things are within these five priorities.”
In addition to Baroness Harding, executives on the call were Test and Trace COO David Pitt and three senior executives from Public Health England (PHE).
The Department of Health has been contacted for comment.
