Covid 19: NHS Test and Trace worker resigns after 'sex voicemail'

A call-handler has resigned after a member of the public reported getting a voicemail apparently from NHS Test and Trace that "sounded like two people having sex".

William Ryan, who had tested positive for Covid, said he was "disgusted" by the message which was left in December.

Mr Ryan, from Basildon, said he looked up the number and found it was the one used by NHS Test and Trace.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed a staff member had resigned.

Mr Ryan, who was asleep when the message was left, said it sounded like "two people talking and then two people having sex".

He previously said: "I wouldn't think in a million years this would happen - someone leaving that sort of voicemail on my phone.

"It's unprofessional - I know people are working from home; I'm working from home.

"That voicemail could have been left on anyone's phone - really and truly."

NHS Test and Trace was set up by the government in 2020 as part of the national response to the pandemic.

It aims to find people who have come into close contact with someone who has the Covid-19 virus, and they are then contacted by phone, text or email.

In a statement, a UKHSA spokeswoman confirmed that following a complaint they investigated the matter and a member of staff had resigned.

"Following a complaint from a member of the public relating to a voicemail message received from an NHS Test and Trace call-handler we investigated the matter, which is now closed," she said.

"The contracted member of staff has resigned from this post.

"UKHSA contracts external service providers to deliver the NHS Test and Trace call-handling service and expects high standards of all contracted staff at all times and we will continue to work with all our service providers to ensure this."

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