NICOLA Sturgeon has come under fire after thousands of contacts of positive Covid patients have not been spoken to by officials – with her Health Secretary accused of adding to the confusion.
The First Minister insisted that “people across Scotland should have confidence in the system” after it was revealed that thousands of Covid positive Scots and their close contacts have not interacted with contact tracing officials.
It was revealed that more than 3,500 people who received positive coronavirus results have not interacted with contact tracers, while more than 9,000 contacts of those with the virus were unable to be traced.
The issues have been blamed on people not answering their phones but the Scottish Government has been urged to do more to get hold of close contacts, including home visits.
The revised numbers show that 9,469 people in total have not been traced within the 72-hour World Health Organization target since records began in August.
READ MORE: Contact tracers have not spoken to thousands who have virus
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Ms Sturgeon said the failure was not down to the Test and Protect contact tracing system, which she said is performing to an “exceptionally good” standard.
Ms Sturgeon stressed that there was a “personal responsibility” required for people to respond to contact tracers – adding that “despite the best efforts” of Test and Protect staff, thousands “didn’t answer their phones and didn’t reply to text messages”.
Labour health spokesperson Monica Lennon said “every effort should be made” to make contact.
She added: “There are many factors that could prevent someone from answering the phone, including serious illness.
“If the Scottish Government is committed to doing everything possible to reach them, the option of a house visit should be included.”
Scottish Conservative Holyrood leader, Ruth Davidson, warned that the “public need to have confidence” in the Test and Protect system and pleaded with Ms Sturgeon for “honest and upfront answers” about the errors.
She said: “People accept mistakes will be made – but they expect government to hold their hands up, not bury the figures.
“The First Minister found out these numbers were wrong a week ago and she should have fronted this up. She didn’t tell us that targets were missed eight weeks running – and they were missed by a mile.
“Figures now show that the situation only improved when ministers changed what constituted a contact – shifting the approach to primarily reaching people by text message. We need robust data in order to make decisions that keep us all safe.”
Ms Davidson added: “People will be rightly concerned that at the start of the second wave of Covid-19 infections spreading across Scotland, Test and Protect was missing targets and the public weren’t being told.
“Dismissing valid criticism – and hiding anything that merits criticism in the first place – is not what the public expect from ministers. We still don’t know how much worse the spread of the virus has been because of this basic error.”
The First Minister said the initial problem which led to under-estimated data about the number of people faced to wait 24 hours was caused by those contacted in the next “calendar day” being categorised as within 24 hours – but she admitted “it shouldn’t have happened”.
Ms Sturgeon added: “I have confidence in this system and I think people across Scotland should have confidence in this system as well.”
On Wednesday evening, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman claimed that “we do not just send SMS messages”.
She added: “We phone contacts of index cases up to three times until we find them. “For those whom we then trace as contacts, we use a mixture of phone calls and SMS messages, moving incrementally to using phone calls entirely.”
But the latest report from Public Health Scotland states that “over the past few weeks, contact tracing of contacts has primarily focused on SMS messages”.
It adds: “Once the SMS message has been delivered, the contact will be marked as complete.
“Where an SMS message is sent, contacts will be considered successfully contacted.”
READ MORE: FMQs Recap: Nicola Sturgeon questioned over contact tracing
The First Minister was forced to clarify the situation – insisting that all those who test positive will receive “a phone call that will last around an hour”.
Ms Sturgeon added that as of last week, around 40 per cent of contacts receive phone calls, but warned some were only sent text messaged.
She said that “all index cases are phoned” while “a mix of phone calls and text messages” are used to get in touch with close contacts of positive cases.
The First Minister added that around six per cent of index cases have not managed to be contacted by officials due to them not responding.
The First Minister told MSPs the proportion of people contacted by phone rather than text is expected to increase, adding ministers will “seek to improve the system”.
She added: “It doesn’t do anybody any service – and by anybody I don’t mean the government I mean the people of Scotland – to suggest anything other than Test and Protect is working well and people should have confidence in it.”
The leader of Scottish Labour also pressed the First Minister about the issues facing the Test and Protect system.
Mr Leonard said: “The most recent reports from Public Health Scotland show that there have been thousands, 3,500 people to be precise, who have tested positive but have not been interviewed by Test and Protect, 400 in the past week alone.
“Is the First Minister seriously telling Scotland that this shows Test and Protect is working well?
READ MORE: Coronavirus Scotland: A further 45 deaths in past 24 hours
“Isn’t it showing it is desperately short of resources and that the Government needs to get a grip?”
Ms Sturgeon admitted the issue was “a concern” but added that “it is simply and factually wrong to describe that as a failure of Test and Protect or somehow down to a lack of resources”.
She added: “Those are people who despite the best efforts of Test and Protect don’t answer their phones and don’t reply to the text messages.
“Now all of us have a personal responsibility, you cannot blame Test and Protect if people are not answering their phone to Test and Protect.”
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