���˿���

Nearly 200 temporary jobs are to go at NHS Scotland's national contact centre.

The call centre was at the heart of the emergency response to Covid and has also been handling booster jab and flu vaccination appointments.

NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) said moving out of the emergency phase of the pandemic meant fewer staff were required.

A pool of temporary NHS workers known as bank staff have been told they are no longer needed.

Instead, NSS will use private call centre contractors to meet future peaks in demand.

The changes mean the national contact centre - which operates on a virtual basis with staff working from home - will move from a core staffing of about 240 workers to 63.

One contact centre worker told ���˿��� Scotland: "Whether contact tracing or supporting the vaccination service, I always knew - and hoped - our work would reduce and eventually end as we helped the country get through this.

"Losing a flexible resource that was the NHS bank staff, who offered great value and dedication to the service is the most surprising element of this. Some of the staff feel betrayed by the organisation that they have done so much for during the pandemic."

'Value for money'

Contracted NHS staff are being asked to apply for the reduced number of contact centre roles or other posts in the health service.

NSS said a number of fixed-term contracts will end and redundancies will be necessary within contact centre workforce.

Martin Morrison, operations director of the Covid response at NHS NSS, said: "The National Contact Centre (NCC) was launched in June 2020 as a temporary emergency national response to the Covid pandemic.

"The NCC's portfolio of services has evolved and changed during its lifetime to meet what subsequent phases of the Covid pandemic needed.

"The workforce profile is changing to provide an efficient service and value for money."

Mr Morrison added that the NCC would "continue to support staff" affected by the changes.