In the large open space dedicated to the platform of contact tracing for the Covid, around twenty agents are present, around thirty others are teleworking. And all of them spend their day on the phone calling new cases that have tested positive for Covid.
“When you can call 20 a day it’s good“comments Yacin but”if we can do more, of course it’s better“because even if the workforce has been increased since the beginning of the year, the number of daily cases is such that it is not possible to call each and all of its contact cases.
Prioritize calls
“We are at around 5,000 daily cases in Seine-Maritime” explains Arnaud Lanchon-Dumontier, the health director of the primary insurance funds of Seine-Maritime. “_We prioritize calls_. We first call those for whom we do not have a mobile phone and who by definition cannot receive SMS“.
Because if you have tested positive or declared a contact case in recent weeks, you have surely realized it, the call is no longer systematic. The SMS on the other hand, much more. Of the 5,000 daily cases”70% receive an SMS” according to Arnaud Lanchon-Dumontier.
This SMS allows them to be informed on the procedure to follow for the future. Identify and prevent their contact cases, edit sick leave if necessary, etc. It also happens that the agents have time to also call a patient who has already been contacted by SMS, but this is not the priority.
“Of course, we can also receive calls” insists the director. If a patient ever feels the need or has difficulty with digital access, the platform can be reached every day from Monday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.. And moreover throughout Normandy (because the service is shared at regional level), she gets about 5,000 a day.