Posted: Tue 14th Jul 2020

Road safety officers in Gwynedd switch jobs to play crucial role in stopping coronavirus from spreading

North Wales news and information
This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Jul 14th, 2020

Gwynedd Council staff have been talking of their redeployment as part of the county’s efforts in stopping coronavirus in its tracks.

The Welsh Government’s Test, Trace and Protect (TTP) strategy involves extensive testing and, in the event of a positive result, tracing the people they’ve been in contact with to contain its further spread.

Both ministers and public health experts claim that effective use of this strategy will be crucial in containing the virus over the weeks and months ahead as lockdown measures are gradually eased.

But without available staff this would not be possible – resulting in various employees  undergoing training and often a completely different working day to what they’ve been accustomed to.

One member of the 39-strong team is Shirley Williams, who has worked for Gwynedd Council since 1990 and most recently as a road safety officer.

As part of her usual work, she would be involved in a variety of road safety projects including the Pass Plus scheme which helps recently qualified drivers to master their skills on the road.

Siwsan Broda is also a member of Gwynedd’s Road Safety team where she works with schools to help primary aged pupils with advice about how to cross the road safely and other road safety interventions and issues.

But both volunteered to temporarily redeploy to the Test Trace Protect (TTP) team towards the end of May, as the Council was establishing an initial group of people to work as contact tracers to help with the national efforts to tackle Covid-19.

Shirley, a member of the 39-strong team, said: “When lockdown started, we were continuing with our regular road safety work as we were able to continue to promote road safety messages online.

“But we soon realised that the work of going out to talk with people to promote these messages would have to be put on hold as lockdown progressed. So I thought that becoming a contact tracer was a way of helping with the Coronavirus effort.

“We received a lot of training before the work got underway, in terms of understanding the IT systems we were using but also in terms of how best to approach talking to people who are naturally feeling quite vulnerable.

“We also benefited from training on safeguarding issues so that we’re able to identify those who may be vulnerable and require us to flag-up any concerns we have about someone’s physical or mental well-being.

“There are some occasions when we’re the ones who are telling people that they have tested positive for Coronavirus, so it’s really important that we are as sympathetic as possible.

“It’s not a message anyone wants to hear.”

Siwsan added: “Everyone I’ve contacted has been happy to talk with me and engage with the process. It’s obviously a difficult time for the people we call, so it’s really important to be as empathetic as possible.

“As part of the work, it’s vital that people talk honestly with us and share as much relevant information as possible. As part of the calls, we ask people where they’ve been recently and who they’ve been in close contact with.

“It can be difficult, because we can be asking about someone’s movements from seven days ago, so we try to be as helpful as we can.

“We then record their contacts so that they can be identified and asked to self-isolate – this is the key to limiting the spread of the virus.

“But our work is more than just asking people about their symptoms and where they’ve been.

“We also offer help and advice – to find out where help is available for groups that help to deliver food for people who aren’t able to leave their home due to Covid19.

“I like to think that we can really help people as well as playing our part in stopping the spread of the virus.”

Stressing her pride in being a part of the team, she concluded: “It’s a really strong sense of team we have despite the fact that the members have come together from different departments across the Council.

“I definitely feel like we’re part of something important – after all, this is our community and we want to make our contribution.”

Cllr Gareth Griffith, who holds the public protection portfolio, thanked all of the staff who are doing such important work as part of the programme.

“Shirley and Siwsan are part of a team of contact tracers who are doing vital work in the efforts to protect our communities from Covid19,” he said.

“We’ve all got a part to play in stopping the spread of Coronavirus, to help protect our family, friends and the wider community as we keep Wales safe.

“Anyone who is contacted by Gwynedd’s contact tracing team should follow the advice provided and help the team with their work to trace your contacts.

“To anyone who has Coronavirus symptoms, please stay home until you get a test. Self-isolating will help control the spread of the virus to friends, the wider community, and particularly the most vulnerable.”

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter



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