Lanarkshire Tory MSP Graham Simpson is urging the Scottish Government to progressively wind-up the Test and Protect system and invest the money saved on new nurses for NHS Lanarkshire.
The Central Scotland representative's call comes after recent figures revealed that £211m has so far been given by the government to Test and Protect during 2021/22.
If that money was diverted towards frontline services, Scottish Conservative research claims it could deliver more than 8000 additional nurses across Scotland. This would include an extra 994 for NHS Lanarkshire.
Mr Simpson says that the Test and Protect system was a valuable resource during the early stages of the pandemic but has now become increasingly redundant in recent months.
Figures show that during the peak of the Omicron wave, 60 per cent of positive cases in Scotland were not contacted within 72 hours.
He believes removing the need to take a confirmatory PCR test will further diminish the usefulness of Test and Protect, as typically, just one in five lateral flow test results are registered with the system.
The Scottish Conservatives have published a policy blueprint entitled Back to Normality, which recommends a move away from mass testing towards representative sampling, which would allow for a dramatic reduction in the resource allocated to monitor Covid.
Mr Simpson said: “As we continue to see positive data surrounding Covid, we need to see a more targeted approach to the virus from the SNP Government.
“Part of the approach should be replacing Test and Protect. It was vital during many stages of the Covid crisis in helping to trace cases in Lanarkshire, but is now not serving its purpose.
“These figures are stark and show how money could be diverted towards hiring many new nurses at NHS Lanarkshire, if over £200m wasn’t being spent on Test and Protect.
"Frontline services in Lanarkshire are in desperate need of extra money and support. A&E waiting times are being missed every week, the treatment backlog is ever growing and heroic staff are absolutely exhausted.
“As we look beyond the pandemic, we need to see the SNP adapt to the new situation and investing in 994 nurses would be an ideal way to do so.”
The Scottish Government spokesman said today that Test and Protect "continues to deliver an effective public health function", despite record numbers of cases.
A spokesman said: "As case numbers have risen, more people are being contact traced through digital channels – contact tracing resource continues to be targeted to best protect public health including ensuring our objectives of protecting the vulnerable and targeting high risk settings.
“We are thankful to the large numbers of people who engage with digital contact tracing when asked – and ask all people who receive a digital contact tracing form or a phone call to respond as soon as possible to help identify their contacts and reduce transmission.
“The First Minister has made clear that later this month the Scottish Government will publish an updated Strategic Framework, that will set out in greater detail our approach to managing Covid more sustainably in the coming phases of the pandemic.”
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