the nhs test and trace system which is
likely to cost the taxpayer
37 billion pounds failed to prevent
lockdowns
and there is no clear evidence that it
had cut the number
of coronavirus infections those are the
findings of the house of commons
public accounts committee which has
published a highly critical report on
the scheme
the mp said that the cost was staggering
and the taxpayers were being treated
like a kind of cash machine but the
prime minister defended the system
as our health editor hugh pim reports
now
a testing site today now part of
everyday life
but it's cost a lot of money to get
where we are and a highly critical
report by mps
has fueled a new debate on what test and
trace has achieved
it was raised at prime minister's
questions the government is throwing a
staggering 37 billion at a test and
trade system that we know
has made barely any difference the prime
minister defended its performance
he gave his thanks to nhs test and trace
that we're able to send
kids back to school and begin cautiously
and irreversibly
to reopen our economy and restart our
lives
the 37 billion budget is over two years
the report says it isn't clear that's
making a measurable difference
it says the system has too many
expensive contractors
including private consultants two and a
half thousand were still on the books
last month
with one paid more than six thousand
pounds a day
lots of money was being thrown at lots
of projects and you know
for in many cases there are big
questions about
how that money has been allocated how
it's been spent it's worth remembering
that early on in the first wave there
was nothing like this
the test and trace network had to be
created from scratch
the key issue is has it been as
effective as it should have been
there were long waits at testing centers
and for results when infections rose
rapidly in september and october
and the system failed to keep up with
people sometimes asked to drive a
hundred miles or more to get a test
it's an absolute joke i've got to bring
you three kids out of school we'll just
have to go back home and try again i
guess
the performance figures have improved
since those problems last year
nearly 83 percent of test results came
back in 24 hours
in the last reported week in february
compared with only around
thirty three and a half percent one week
in october
the proportion of close contacts reached
was more than 93 percent in late
february
compared with about 60 percent back in
october
the number of daily tests carried out
has more than doubled since the new year
to over a million yesterday
though this includes those done in
schools which have reopened
yes we do a very large number of tests
we successfully reach a very large
number of people
to ask them to self-isolate that's what
test and trace is set up to do
so this report accuses us of delivering
what we said
we were going to do to build the service
that the countries needed
in this extraordinary crisis that we're
all facing
some argue that local council officials
knocking on doors
rather than a national call center
system is the best way to reach contacts
of those who test positive
health leaders in england say both
approaches are required
hugh pim bbc news