Residents of Milton Keynes who test positive for Covid-19 will now be contacted by a local contact tracing hub following the success of a pilot project set up by Central Bedfordshire Council earlier this year.
Milton Keynes Council, which operates a shared public health service with Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough, has commissioned the service which begins from this week.
The Contact Tracing Hub is notified of positive cases of Covid-19 just an hour after a positive test. Previously, it could take up to three days for the local team to receive cases. This allows the local team to offer immediate support and ensure residents can self-isolate safely.
Director of Public Health for Milton Keynes, Vicky Head, said: “We’re working really hard to help control the spread of this virus and this localised test and trace system has proven to be very effective.
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If you’ve tested positive, please remember that our team will be trying to call you. No-one will get into trouble by sharing information about who you’ve been in close contact with, but it can help us alert anyone that may have picked up the virus.”
The new Contact Tracing Hub began operating for Central Bedfordshire residents at the end of May. Staff at the Hub call each positive case and complete the Test and Trace questionnaire to identify their close contacts, understand where they may have been infected and ensure they receive all the necessary support to self-isolate.
In the first month (22 May to 21 June) the Hub handled 2,204 cases and successfully contacted 2,159 cases. The service has been able to reach 98 per cent of cases according to latest performance data and the relevant information was successfully captured. Prior to the service going to local contact teams, the national team had a completion rate of 64 per cent.
