Dr. Kevin Kelleher:

Prior to Covid about 95% to 97% of all positive results would have been delivered to the person concerned either by the GP or their hospital clinician. We in public health would only have been involved after that had happened. The vast majority of what people call "call ones" normally would have been done by a clinician who would have told a patient that they had X or Y and told them that they would get a call from public health as a consequence. We have had to change that relationship entirely since Covid so that now we tell them, not through their clinician who normally is their GP or hospital consultant, but by someone in one of our centres. That is a big change.

Clinicians are available at all times in the centres supporting contact tracers around how they deal with the calls and so on. Someone will be available to one of the callers, so if they are not clinicians themselves or if they are clinicians who are not doctors, doctors are often available to get in touch and talk through an issue. A level of support is always available and it can be escalated up the system.

Psychological support systems are also in place for members of staff who feel they have hit a wall in what is going on and they need support. That is very clearly available to anyone. People have needed that and we have sought to support people around those issues.