Chamber and committees

While the Scottish Government strongly encourage care home staff to take up the vaccine, we have no plans to make vaccination mandatory for social care staff.

Whilst we strongly encourage those eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccination to do so, the decision is one of personal choice, and we have no current plans to introduce mandatory vaccination, or to impose any penalties relating to this.

Employers should be aware that care home staff working in Scotland are not mandated to receive the vaccine. Each employer will need to consider their own specific circumstances and make sure their approach is consistent with their own existing obligations and relevant legislation.

Thrombolysis is already delivered nationwide in a number of hospitals across Scotland.

The rate of thrombolytic treatment and door to needle (DTN) times for thrombolysis are measured through the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA).

The SSCA 2021 report can be found here: Scottish stroke improvement programme 2021 national report - Scottish stroke improvement programme - Publications - Public Health Scotland . It concluded that variations in thrombolysis rates were a reflection of the different acute stroke pathways and variable access to stroke specialist assessment and management. It highlighted that improving access to early specialist assessment in emergency departments would increase the overall percentage of stroke patients treated and reduce the DTN times.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme team work closely with services and NHS boards to use learning from SSCA to support improvement across the whole stroke pathway, including timely access to thrombolysis.

Booster vaccinations in Scotland started as soon as possible once the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided their advice on boosters, which stated that the booster dose should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course.

858,626 people have received a booster or 3 rd dose to Thursday 4 November, with 604,256 people over the age of 65 having received their flu vaccine. We are working as quickly as we can, prioritising those most vulnerable.

Data on boosters by JCVI priority group is not yet published. We continue to work closely with Public Health Scotland to develop the vaccination data to provide robust statistics that enhance public understanding.

As part of Programme for Government (PfG) commitments made in 2019 and reaffirmed in 2020 we are developing a programme to improve stroke pathways and services.

A progressive stroke pathway document, due by the end of this year, will clearly set out our vision of what we should expect of a progressive stroke service in Scotland in order that services fully meet the needs of people who experience a stroke. This will include consideration of the important role of stroke units.

The Scottish Stroke Care Audit monitors the quality of care provided by the hospitals in all NHS Boards. Access to a stroke unit is a standard measured by SSCA, alongside other standards associated with improved patient outcomes. Performance against the standards, and more detail on service models can be found here: Scottish stroke improvement programme 2021 national report - Scottish stroke improvement programme - Publications - Public Health Scotland .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03671 & S6W-03672 on 17 November 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Our COVID Status Certification scheme is a necessary, proportionate and limited measure targeted towards activities that are a higher risk. This is an alternative to the potential closure of higher risk venues.

We value the work of the Scottish Human Rights Commission and the current scheme takes account of potential issues noted in the Commission’s April 2021 briefing paper. We have addressed a range of more specific potential impacts in our published Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) .

Our decisions are taken, and reviewed on the latest data and clinical evidence . Our review process includes consideration of the impact assessments, such as the EQIA.

The initial contract to develop the NHS Scotland Covid Status App was awarded to Netcompany through fair and open procurement at a cost of £600,000. Netcompany is a Danish firm who have developed the Coronapas App for Denmark and the NHS Covid Pass for England and Wales.

The NHS Scotland Covid Status App continues to be developed, with further features and functions added, we will therefore set out the total cost in due course.

The Scottish Government has never received an offer from the UK Government to adapt its app to support our needs. It is appropriate that we design a scheme that is right for Scotland, works in our context, and offers us the flexibility to adapt to our changing circumstances.

Information regarding pregnant women currently in intensive care unit as a result of contracting COVID-19 or have been hospitalised and delivered their baby early is not held centrally by the Scottish Government and not yet publicly available. Public Health Scotland may be contacted and may be able to provide this information.

See S6W-04225 on 17 November 2021 for information regarding pregnant women admitted to intensive care during the period March 2020 to September 2021

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

It is the responsibility of Health Boards to ensure they provide patients with a service for the return and disposal of medicines. Patients should return any unused medicines to a community pharmacy or dispensing doctor to ensure they can be safely and appropriately destroyed. This, coupled with only ordering what a patient requires and letting the pharmacist/prescriber know when a patient has chosen to stop taking a medicine, helps to reduce the overall amount that will need disposal.