Question reference: S6W-05925
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 27 January 2022
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Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 May 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking as part of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses (SHBBV) services Recovery Plan to ensure that adequate numbers of staff are available for finding and treating new cases of hepatitis C, and collecting and analysing data on levels of blood borne virus infection.
Answer
Individual health boards are responsible for allocating staff, in recognition that they best understand local priorities and needs. The Scottish Government understands that many NHS staff have been unavoidably redeployed since 2020 to support the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but that as the pandemic subsides, staff will begin to revert to their pre-Covid duties.
The Scottish Government welcomes this, but remains committed to working closely with Health boards to support recovery of sexual health and blood borne virus services, including those focused on Hepatitis C, through on-going engagement with the Scottish Health Protection Network and development of the next iteration of the sexual health and Blood Borne Viruses Framework.