Coronavirus: Local Covid-19 tracing 'needs more resources'

In July a testing site was set up at Downside Primary School in Luton after residents were urged to get screened

Joint working between local and national teams on coronavirus testing and contact tracing should be properly funded, says a public health official.

Deputy director of public health for Luton Lucy Hubber said more resources should be allocated to councils to cover the costs of finding people.

It comes after the government said it will provide councils with with "ring-fenced teams" of the contact tracers.

Initial trials of joint working has improved the success of the system.

Luton has been designated an "area of intervention" by Public Health England

On Monday, the Department for Health and Social Care said NHS Test and Trace will provide local authorities across the country with "ring-fenced teams" of the contact tracers from the national service to ensure more people are reached.

Luton, alongside Blackburn with Darwen and Leicester, is one of the local areas to already benefit from the approach of closer links between the national programme and local officials.

Ms Hubber argued it was the "right thing to do" for the town's local authority to pick up more difficult to reach cases after 48 hours of unsuccessful efforts by NHS Test and Trace, but highlighted that "we are doing this at our own cost".

Commenting on the Government's announcement, Ms Hubber said: "They are actually shifting some of that activity into local authorities [and] if they are shifting activity into local authorities resources should follow that."

Ms Hubber said it would be "ideal" if local officials in Luton were able to follow up all of the positive Covid-19 cases and their households in the town, while NHS Test and Trace handled reaching their wider contacts".

Dido Harding, the head of NHS Test and Trace, said earlier: "After successful trials in a small number of local areas, I am very pleased to announce that we are now offering this integrated localised approach to all local authorities to ensure we can reach more people in their communities and stop the spread of Covid-19.