A local contact tracing service, to complement the national NHS Test and Trace Service, will be launched this week as part of the council’s continued response to COVID-19 and to help reduce the spread locally.
Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead staff will operate the supplementary service and will call residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 but haven’t been successfully contacted within 24 hours by the national NHS Test and Trace service.
The local contact tracing service may reduce the delay between a person testing positive for COVID-19 and a contact tracing call successfully taking place.
Residents will be contacted by our local contact tracing service on a local number. They will speak to residents to identify anyone who has had close contact with them during the time they were infectious, as these contacts may need to self-isolate. Our local contact tracers are people who know and are trusted by our local communities.
Councillor Stuart Carroll, lead member for adult social care, children’s services, health and mental health, says: “We hope that this service will help reduce further transmission in the community by having local people with local knowledge speaking to our residents.
“If you do get a call from the team please do help as we want to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community. This is another vital tool that the borough is using to respond to the pandemic.
“We need to ensure we follow the data, stop the spread and support local businesses. By engaging with these calls, it will help to stop the spread in our community.”
Local contact tracers will use data provided by the NHS Test and Trace service to contact residents. The staff have received thorough training which includes in-depth data protection modules to ensure all residents’ details are safe, secure and confidential and not shared inappropriately or without permission.
Residents contacted by the local service will be provided with information on local support services available to them.
If our local contact tracers are unable to contact you, they will leave you a voicemail or text message.
For more information on the Local Contact Tracing Service please visit our website:
www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/adult-social-care/community-response/test-and-trace-local-contact-tracing-service.
