In light of the government U-turn on the NHS contact-tracing app, Digital Health News wants the opinion of our readers.
We want readers to take part in our latest poll which asks whether you agree with the government’s decision and if they should have made the decision sooner.
Boris Johnsons’ government announced on 18 June that it was abandoning its model for the NHS contact-tracing app and would switch to Google and Apple’s technology.
The U-turn follows months of debate over whether a centralised or decentralised approach to contact-tracing should be used.
The NHS opted for a centalised approach, which would see data collected from the app sent to a central database for analysis.
Apple and Google’s decentralised contact-tracing model has been labelled as being more secure, but means epidemiologists have access to less data.
We want to know whether you agree with the decision or not, and whether you think the decision should have made sooner. You can cast your vote below. Voting closes at 10am on Monday (29 June).
29 June 2020 @ 14:46
Pertinent questions to ask:-
Were normal procurement rules and legislation followed when tendering these contracts valued in excess of £11m?
Had any of the successful bidders been major donors to any political party during the recent general election?
Were any of the key decision makers in what should have been apolitical roles active members of any political party?
Who profited from this failed project?
Did they pay UK taxes on those profits?
Have any lessons been learned and applied?
26 June 2020 @ 15:42
Just to confirm, which decision are we voting on, is anyone clear? The decision to use a centralised approach, or the decision to do a U-turn and abandon that?
26 June 2020 @ 08:49
I hope this is properly investigated, this has the fingerprints of Cummings all over it.
25 June 2020 @ 17:05
Appalling strategic thinking. Appalling waste of money. Who thought that was going to be a good idea?
25 June 2020 @ 17:03
I believe that this government has no real interest in the general population, only in being seen to make decisions which will support the economy.
I would like to see the “PM” brought before the Public Accounts Committee to explain his choices and decisions.
26 June 2020 @ 16:53
The PM or Health Secretary may have made a wrong call in initially going for the centralised app but I would imagine that neither hasn’t the faintest idea about the technology and was relying on the advice given by advisers\experts. They are the people who should account for the advice they gave and the reasons for promoting a particular course of action. It would also be interesting to know if No.10 ignored their advice and what they were then instructed to do.