Test and Protect
About this good practice
‘Test and Protect’ is a digital system for national COVID testing and contact tracing, commissioned by the Scottish Government.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, virus testing, result notification and contact tracing in Scotland was managed regionally by local National Health Service (NHS) health boards, using a system reliant on paper, spreadsheets and phone calls.
As the pandemic took hold, the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI), raised a concern that this regional approach would quickly reach its capacity. This led to the creation of a project owned by Public Health Scotland and led by DHI, to develop new, digital systems for test result notification and contact tracing.
For the development of the test result notification system, DHI brought together 15 stakeholders from the digital innovation and public health fields for two workshops to create a vision and roadmap. Within 41 days a new test result notification system was implemented across 14 health boards in Scotland, transacting millions of records every month.
With an unprecedented rise in cases, it was identified that an entirely new approach to contact tracing would also be needed. Using the same co-creative approach, the team at DHI designed a digital system where citizens were empowered to ‘self contact trace’. It was the first ever co-managed healthcare system in Scotland to be deployed at scale, representing a significant breakthrough in healthcare.
Evidence of success
Successful contact tracing of millions of citizens, saving countless lives, and relieving the pressure on NHS systems/staff giving greater impact from the funds/resources leveraged.
Government restrictions could be lifted, minimising the negative effects on citizens particularly felt by older groups who had to isolate due to their vulnerability.
A new precedent for activating citizens to co-manage their routine healthcare has been set, which will have a long-term impact on healthy ageing
Potential for learning or transfer
Establishing knowledge transfer mechanisms
● Positions key individuals to understand both the problem/need and the possible solution
Using participatory design methods
● Brings together the right stakeholders to ensure that the solution will work for all users
● Gets buy-in from stakeholders; addressing concerns through iteration
Continuous investment into new delivery methods
● Pre-pandemic development of data exchange infrastructures allowed the team to move quickly
Organisational culture predicated on trust
● The project was led by junior-level professionals, who were trusted and empowered in their roles by senior managers, thanks to their credibility and integrity as individuals
Further information
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.