A CONTACT tracing app set up by a former doctor has been praised by Scottish businesses for being “clean, painless and efficient”.

Safe2Go, which was launched by developed by Glasgow-based Hamill Digital Healthcare in July, is now being used in restaurants, bars, offices, gyms, cinemas and care homes across the UK.

The system gives company owners a QR code for customers to scan when entering the venue. The information is stored on a cloud-based system for 21 days.

Payment packages for venues start at £15 per month with volume discounts available for businesses with multiple locations.

Managing director Louise Hamill has more than a 10 years of experience working as a medical doctor in NHS hospitals.

“It was announced in June that customer information has to be recorded”, she told The National. “We thought we knew how to keep information safe and secure so the development process was very speedy and we developed Safe2Go in two weeks.”

“Feedback has been really positive. There have been no major issues and lots of growth through hospitality venues.”

One restaurant was using pen and paper and they had to store it in a locked file and shred it every 21 days. They then had to formulate it into spreadsheets to send to test and protect. It takes the hassle away from the venue.”

Hamill said Safe2Go differs from similar systems because it does not use the data for third party marketing.

A variety of companies have adopted the technology, including Scottish Care, which the largest group of social care providers in the UK, and wholesale food and drink supplier Dunn’s Food & Drinks, which supports more than 2000 venues in the UK.

Jenny Provan, who owns Kitchenetta restaurant in Glasgow, said she discovered Safe2Go in July when she used it at a cafe.

“Before that I was taking names and numbers down on paper but people can be reluctant to do that” she said. “I wasn’t comfortable with it for GDPR reasons.”

She said the system is easy to use but works better on iPhones and some older customers don’t have a smartphone so their details need to written down.

She added: “Regular clientele can check in again so it’s quite clever. Everyone should have it.

“It is vital and the only way to get out of this pandemic is through test and protect if it can be used properly. It’s a very clean, painless and efficient way to take customer information. It’s very private for the customer too. I wouldn’t be without it.”

Provan said it worked particularly well at the Glasgow Coffee festival last month.

She said: “People just scanned the QR code which prevented queues from forming. Some people have difficultly using it but because it is so common Glasgow, most people are used to it.”

Nadia Eusebi from Coia’s Hairdressing used Safe2Go from when hairdressers reopened in the summer.

She said: "We didn’t want to have to gather pieces of paper together. We wanted something online so we didn’t have to deal with it. Clients love the ease of it. They can scan their phone straight away and it is easy to use."