NHS Test and Trace

rdf:langString NHS Test and Trace

rdf:langString NHS Test and Trace

rdf:langString England

rdf:langString NHS_Test_and_Trace_logo.png

rdf:langString NHS COVID-19 Self-Test.jpg

rdf:langString NHS Test and Trace

rdf:langString NHS Test and Trace is a government-funded service in England, established in 2020 to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Despite its name, the programme was never in fact run by the NHS: the programme is part of the UK Health Security Agency; the service and the agency are headed by Jenny Harries. The service is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Minister of State for Social Care. It has devolved to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Innovation at that ministry, currently Lord Kamall. The initial budget for the service was £15 billion, rising to £22bn in November 2020, and a further £15bn was allocated for 2021–22 to bring the total for the two years to £37bn. Routine contact tracing was halted on 24 February 2022. The service provides temporary sites where samples are taken from individuals, processes the samples at a newly created network of laboratories, and communicates the results; infected people are instructed to isolate themselves from others and asked to provide details of their recent close contacts, who are also told to isolate. Almost all of the work is outsourced to consultants and contractors, although some of the laboratories involve other government bodies and universities. NHS Test and Trace is separate from the pre-existing infection control function of Public Health England, which works with NHS laboratories.

rdf:langString Chief Executive of UK Health Security Agency

rdf:langString Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

rdf:langString A box containing a COVID-19 lateral flow test

rdf:langString GB