Thank you for getting in touch with me about NHS Test and Trace programme and the accompanying NHS app.
Testing and NHS Test and Trace services are being provided through the NHS, with support from providers like Serco and Sitel.
More widely, work is being done urgently to increase testing capacity following a rise in the virus and an increase in the number of people wanting tests.
I appreciate that there were reports of early difficulties in accessing and registering tests using the app. Work is being done urgently to increase testing capacity following a rise in the virus and an increase in the number of people wanting tests.
Ministers are confident that 500,000 tests will be able to be processed daily by the end of October and are increasing the number of testing sites by 20 percent, which should enable people to find a test site closer to their homes, as well as increasing testing capacity.
The Health Secretary has now published a plan for prioritisation, setting out how tests are allocated where they are needed most: first, to support acute clinical care; second, to support and protect people in care homes; third, NHS staff, including GPs and pharmacists; fourth, targeted testing for outbreak management and surveillance studies; fifth, testing for teaching staff with symptoms; and then the general public when they have symptoms, prioritising those in areas of high incidence. This will help to ensure that testing is effectively delivered.
You can find full information about how data will be gathered and stored in the app’s privacy notice, here.