Covid-19 tracer numbers to drop 66% despite virus resurgence

Overall the contract tracers feel the decision to reduce numbers could limit Ireland’s ability to fight further waves of infection. File picture: Denis Minihane

Despite the resurgence of Covid-19 cases, there will be just 146 contact tracers working in the country from July, based in Cork and Dublin, the HSE has confirmed.

This comes as some of the almost 500 contact tracers currently working for the HSE say they are “angry and concerned” at the proposed downsizing as they watch infection numbers rise across their screens.

Hospitals yesterday treated 626 people for Covid-19, up from 180 at the end of May. University Hospital Limerick had the highest number of Covid patients of any hospital, with 61 being treated, there were 28 in Cork University Hospital and 13 children, including two in ICUs, across the Children's Health Ireland units. 

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Contact tracers working for the HSE since 2020 say they do not understand why their roles are being phased out. One told the Irish Examiner that teams are seeing cases and outbreaks “increasing exponentially daily” again.

“These offshoots of Omicron are easier to catch, and people who caught the virus during the big surge earlier this year are among those getting infected again,” the tracer said. “We are seeing this daily when we contact people.” 

These tracers worked the phones during the height of the pandemic, including making calls to families when a relative was identified as Covid-positive after a sudden death. 

The tracer said:

Our contact tracing skills, knowledge, and experience have suddenly been deemed unnecessary, even though specialist clinical contact tracing will be continuing after our contracts expire.

Senior contact tracers are mainly paid at HSE Grade 4 salary level, but almost all remaining positions are at Grade 3.

A HSE spokeswoman said: “As at today, we are working to fill 135 Grade III clerical officers and 11 Grade V staff officers to provide the functions required across seven days of the week.”  These roles will run to the end of the year. 

The contact tracer, who did not wish to be identified, said the proposed pay-scale means they have a choice between taking a pay drop or leaving their skills behind. 

“How would this proposed plan protect the most vulnerable individuals and communities that the specialised contact tracers manage daily,” the tracer said, referring to nursing homes, homeless communities, migrants and refugees among others.

We would argue that the proposed removal of the most experienced contact tracers who possess crucial institutional memory would be utterly counter-intuitive.” 

The HSE spokeswoman said much of the work previously done only by specialist contact tracers is now spread across the teams. However, the response did not indicate how this might work after June 30 when numbers will drop from 465 to just 146 staff.

She said between full-time and part-time staff, the equivalent of 10 people work on specialised contact tracing now. Six clinical nurse managers, including five hired for the Dublin centre in April, will offer support to clerical staff, she said.

Overall the contract tracers feel the decision to reduce numbers could limit Ireland’s ability to fight further waves of infection.

“I, together with my colleagues who are affected by our proposed removal, understand that the Department of Health, HSE and Contact Management Programme needs to adapt to the current pandemic situation and the need to review costs,” the contact tracer said.

“However we strongly feel and have informed those in HSE management that should the removal of the most experienced and knowledgeable contact tracers be an exercise in cost-cutting then it would seem to be a paltry sum and would ignore the invaluable experience, knowledge and enhanced skill-set that would be lost.”