Talking the talk … LibDem leader Willie Rennie out canvassing in his constituency.
By Democrat reporter
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has today called on the Health Secretary Jeane Freeman to urgently expand contact tracing capacity as new figures reveal a rapid increase in the number of people who haven’t been interviewed by contact tracers within 48 hours.
Scottish Liberal Democrat analysis of Public Health Scotland data shows that over the last month the number of people waiting over 48 hours between their positive case being logged and being interviewed by contact tracers has increased rapidly:
Willie Rennie commented: “In the last week 441 covid-positive people waited over two days to be interviewed by a contact tracer. That is up from 177 the week before and 38 a month ago.
“These deeply troubling new statistics raise serious questions about whether the second wave could overwhelm our contact tracing system.
“There’s no knowing just how cataclysmic the damage of these delays could be. It puts contacts, family, friends or neighbours at greater risk of spreading the virus without their knowing it.
“Every minute counts, and tracers need to learn who these people are and reach them much faster. We can’t have positive cases waiting two days, three days and longer to be interviewed about their whereabouts and contacts.
“The Scottish Government’s mismanagement of students returning has contributed to an explosion of cases and it appears the system can’t keep up.
“Test and protect was supposed to protect us from the second peak, but it’s struggling even to keep on top of it.
“The Health Secretary boasted she could expand the contact tracing capacity at the snap of a finger. Well she needs to do that now. The service is dangerously fraying round the edges.”
JACKIE BAILLIE TELLS NICOLA STRUGEON TO URGENTLY RECRUIT MORE CONTACT TRACERS
Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton Constituency, pictured left, has told Nicola Sturgeon that she must immediately ensure that significantly more contact tracers are recruited in order to effectively trace the rising number of Covid-19 cases.
This follows reports to Jackie Baillie from local constituents, informing her that they had not been contacted by tracers for up to five days after being tested positive for Covid-19 case. One constituent spent an hour in a car with someone who then tested positive for Covid-19 but has yet to be contacted by an NHS Scotland contact tracer.
Jackie Baillie raised the fact that some health boards have recruited contact tracers on the basis of there being seven positive cases a day, despite health boards seeing positive daily cases rise into the hundreds.
This exchange took place during the First Minister’s statement to the Scottish Parliament, during which she laid out the additional restrictions which are coming into force across Scotland and in particular in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area.
Jackie Baillie said: “We are grateful for the work of our existing contact tracers but they have an impossible job as there are not enough of them to cope with the level of demand.
“We have absolutely no hope of reducing the spread of this virus if those who are coming into contact with positive cases are not quickly contacted and told to self-isolate.
“Nowhere near enough contact tracers have been recruited to meet the demand presented by the rocketing daily case figures. It is completely unacceptable that local people are not being contacted. The lack of tracers across our health boards is directly putting whole communities at risk.
“I have called on Nicola Sturgeon and her government to come clean with the number of tracers that she plans to recruit. Further inaction in terms of recruiting significantly more tracers will make more positive cases, further restrictions and, sadly, more deaths a very real concern.”