Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00457 on 14 June 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 .

This information is not collected centrally on a national palliative care register, however, under the Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) (Scotland) Directions 2018, Health Boards should each have a local Palliative Care Scheme in place to ensure that patients within their areas who reach the last days of their life receive appropriate high quality care. Health Boards are responsible for contracting with GP practices in their areas to assess patients appropriately.

Decisions on the risk rating for individual countries is made on the basis of assessments by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, using a methodology endorsed by the four UK Chief Medical Officers. This takes into account incidence and test positivity, presence of variants of concern, and capability for genomic surveillance in that country, to reach a red, amber or green rating. The travel regulations are devolved public health measures, but we work with the other nations of the UK to come to a consistent view wherever we can.

For example, the recent decision to move Portugal onto the amber list was not one taken lightly. However it was necessary following evidence of rising incidence and higher test positivity than in Scotland. It also showed a strain of the Delta variant with an additional mutation that could mean vaccine resistance. It is therefore vital that we regularly review this data and take the right decisions for Scotland, in order to limit importation of the virus and not reverse progress with the vaccine rollout.

Referrals to Scotland’s first Early Cancer Diagnostic Centres (ECDC) went live in NHS Dumfries & Galloway on 17 May 2021, NHS Fife on 7 June 2021, with NHS Ayrshire & Arran due to come on stream on 21 June 2021. Wider roll-out will be determined by an independent evaluation overseen by the multi-disciplinary Oversight Group for the Centres.

It is crucial that the decisions we take are based on the latest available evidence and are aligned to clinical guidance.

Our approach is for people to have access to the support they need for assessment, diagnosis, care and rehabilitation in a setting that is as close to their home as possible.

NHS Boards across Scotland are co-ordinating and providing local pathways to ensure a multidisciplinary and person-centred approach in their area.

Additionally, we invested over £460,000 in Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland to enable them to deliver their ‘Long COVID support service’ which complements the support being provided by NHS Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office has also committed around £2.5 million to fund nine projects to improve our understanding of the long term effects of COVID-19 on physical and mental health and wellbeing in Scotland, and help with developing effective clinical interventions to support recovery and rehabilitation.

Our approach is for people to have access to the support they need for assessment, diagnosis, care and rehabilitation in a setting that is as close to their home as possible.

NHS Boards across Scotland are co-ordinating and providing local pathways from primary, community care and third sector services to ensure a multidisciplinary and person-centred approach in their area.

Whilst long COVID clinics are one model that NHS Boards may explore in doing so, we recognise that no one single approach is likely to fit all areas and circumstances.

No patient should be discharged from hospital until they are clinically fit. It is the responsibility of the clinician in charge of treatment to decide when an individual patient is fit for discharge, as part of that process a multi-disciplinary team will assess the individuals on-going needs and ensure appropriate care and support is available.

The number of Allied Health Professionals with a specialty of Therapeutic Radiography working for NHS Scotland at the end of each financial year since 2015-16 can be found in the following table:

NHSScotland Allied Health Professionals with a specialty of Therapeutic Radiography (Bands 5-9), Staff in post (Whole Time Equivalent) For the period March 2016 to March 2021.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which is the UK body responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe, and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent clinical group of experts that provides all Governments in the UK with advice on vaccinations, both concur that the evidence shows that, overall, the benefits of vaccination, including vaccinating the under 30 year olds, outweigh the risks. In coming to this conclusion, both organisations looked in detail at all the evidence from the clinical trials undertaken by the pharmaceutical companies and the post-approval authorisation monitoring of the vaccines. The JCVI also reviewed and took into consideration the latest available evidence on the current UK COVID-19 infection rate, the scale and pace of the vaccine programme and modelling of the timing and size of any likely third pandemic wave. It is important that all those who are eligible and advised to be vaccinated take up the offer of a vaccine, and complete the course for maximum protection.

The Scottish Government provides a range of grants and loans to help deliver energy efficiency improvements and support investment by owner occupiers, private and social landlords. Last year we introduced a new loan scheme for private landlords to support achievement of minimum energy efficiency standards. We review the guidance for all of our schemes each year and currently have no plans to change the grants available to private landlords owning multiple properties.