Test and Trace bosses believe they need to "rebuild public trust" and are planning a pre-Christmas push to rescue the troubled service, according to leaked slides seen by Sky News.
The documents, shown during a video call hosted by some of Test and Trace's most senior executives, reveal the deep concern within the English contact-tracing programme about its image and performance.
In addition to rebuilding public trust, executives believe they need to "reset" their relationship with local councils, which has been strained ever since the launch of the service.
Image:The slides reveal that Test and Trace has 'mobilised' 27 'workstreams'
Image:The slides reveal that Test and Trace has 'mobilised' 27 'workstreams'
Test and Trace head Baroness Dido Harding has maintained that the service is working well with local councils and engaging the public effectively.
But the slides, which lay out what Test and Trace bosses are calling "the path to Christmas", tell a different story.
They show that Test and Trace bosses are aware of the mistrust felt by the public and local officials towards the national contact tracing service, which has been repeatedly criticised for its poor performance.
Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth described the revelation as "astounding" and called on the government to use the lockdown to fix contact tracing in England.
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The slides claim that Test and Trace has "mobilised" 27 "workstreams" to reinvent the service as part of a "countdown to Christmas". But Mr Ashworth questioned whether the plan was clear and concrete enough to repair Test and Trace's damaged reputation in the time left remaining in lockdown, which is supposed to end on December 2.
"We're two weeks in now and we've seen no plan at all to fix contact tracing. Instead, we've seen a PR plan. That's not enough enough," he told Sky News.
The slides reveal that Test and Trace will be introducing "strategic comms", "incentives" and a "citizen advisory group" to rebuild public trust, a plan which public health experts regarded with scepticism.
You can only rebuild public trust by doing the right thing," said Professor Allyson Pollock, Clinical Professor of Public Health at Newcastle University
"What the public knows is that the response has been extremely expensive and extremely ineffective. They have a contact tracing system that's been centralised and privatised using large commercial providers that have never ever delivered contact tracing. And what it's shown is that it isn't working."
Test and Trace also plans to "reset our relationship with Local Authorities" - although the slides only refer to one measure designed to achieve this - the existing contain framework, which covers local responses to coronavirus.
Image:The slides reveal the deep concern within the English contact tracing organisation
Image:The slides reveal the deep concern within the English contact tracing organisation
The slides call for a "step change" in the speed of the service, which official figures show is meeting none of its targets for turnaround times.
Boris Johnson admitted last month that he shared "people's frustrations" at the time it took for tests to be processed.
Test and Trace's other priorities include increasing the size of the service and its use of data. The service was widely criticised after it briefly lost tens of thousands of cases following a mix-up with an Excel spreadsheet.
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The slides say that the "path to Christmas" programme is "intended to ensure that all staff working on things fall under these five priorities".
In addition to Baroness Harding, the executives on the call were Test and Trace chief operating officer David Pitt, and three senior executives from Public Health England (PHE).
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:
"NHS Test and Trace is breaking chains of transmission thanks to local and national teams working hand in glove - over 2 million people who may otherwise have unknowingly spread coronavirus have been contacted and told to isolate.
"We are continuously seeking to improve the service, as well as our vital local relationships. There are now over 150 local contact tracing partnerships across the country with more to come, and we are going further by sending out hundreds of thousands of rapid lateral flow tests to local authorities across England."
