Chamber and committees

The information, covering the first 6 months of the pandemic, is published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) in their monthly 'Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland' reports. The latest report was published on 14th October.

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/covid19/covid-deaths-report-week-41.pdf

It showed that from week 12 to week 37 (mid-March to mid-September) there were 2,258 excess deaths in care homes (37% above average), 3,458 excess deaths at home or in non-institutional settings (47% above average) and whilst after an early peak, hospital deaths fell below average levels in week 19 (4th – 10th May) and are now 686 (5%) below average levels for the period covering weeks 12-37.

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not have a ratings score system.

The decision to admit patients to hospital is made by either the Emergency Department or Primary Care, not the ambulance service.

In terms of categorisation of calls, these have not changed during 2020.

Table 1 gives the total number of episodes of care of patients aged 65 and over to ICU and combined units in Scotland for the past 6 years. The data includes both elective and emergency episodes of care. The level of elective and emergency demand on hospitals during the spring was affected by COVID-19 and as such care needs to be taken when comparing trends.

There has been no variance from normal clinical practice in decision making around any aspect of ICU care for COVID-19.

The data is related to ICUs and combined units, excluding specialist cardiovascular and neurological ICUs. The number of episodes does not account for the length of stay which will vary for different types of patients.

Table 1. Number of episodes of care for patients aged 65 and over to ICU and combined units in Scotland (2015-2020)

The Scottish Ambulance Service always make decisions on requirement to convey patients to Hospital on an individual and clinical basis.

Whilst receiving no direct advice from the Scottish Government, SAS implemented a specific protocol on 3rd April 2020 commonly used during a pandemic to help understand the clinical acuity of patients presenting with Covid-19 symptoms in order for SAS to respond appropriately.

Following a standard methodology of structure questions, this protocol helps to identify priority symptoms and assess levels of clinical risk to support decision making.

The Scottish Government has funded the Health and Social Care Alliance (The ALLIANCE) for their work on a wide ranging number of projects. This work has crossed a number of Scottish Government policy areas including Children and Families and Health.

Within Health the Scottish Government currently has a Strategic Partnership Agreement with the ALLIANCE. This agreement sees the ALLIANCE receive around £4m per year in consolidated funding to deliver a range of projects and programmes within Health and Social Care.

The work set out in the agreement sits within the context of the Christie agenda and is intended to contribute to: improving outcomes, including supporting human rights and independent living; building capacity of individuals, families and communities; shifting to preventative investment; integrating services; and developing a sustainable approach in the face of falling resources and rising need.

You have requested information on how much funding the Scottish Government has provided to the Health and Social Care Alliance in each year since 2007. It is the aim of the Scottish Government to provide information whenever possible. However we have only provided the information requested from 2012 onwards because the Scottish Government accounting system was updated in 2012.

The following table sets out the payments made to the ALLIANCE in each of the years since 2012.

Table: Funding paid by the Scottish Government to the Health and Social Care Alliance (the ALLIANCE) from 2007 to 2020

John Swinney; The Scottish Government’s approach to using testing alongside other measures to suppress COVID-19 outbreaks is set out in Scotland’s Strategic Framework, published on 23 October and available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework/ . This approach is informed by the clinical and scientific review of our testing strategy, also published on 23 October and available at https://www.gov.scot/news/clinical-and-scientific-review-of-testing/ .

Testing is available to anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19, including school children and the education workforce. Testing is also available for asymptomatic staff in schools and early learning settings who are concerned they have been exposed to the risk of infection. In addition, Public Health Scotland have recently commenced recruitment of a sample of school staff who will undertake antibody tests as part of the enhanced Covid-19 surveillance being carried out within schools.

There are no plans to introduce temperature checks in schools at the current time. As referenced in S5W-32464 on 30 October 2020, there is not enough evidence to support the use of Infrared Thermal Imaging devices to detect potential COVID-19 cases. Employing it, even as a visible sign of caution to promote public confidence, could lead to over-confidence and reduction of compliance with other measures. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

We are committed to continuous improvement in the diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions, which is why we set out in our Programme for Government a Respiratory Care Action Plan to deliver these key priorities.

As we continue to develop our understanding of the impact the virus has had on the health of the people of Scotland, including those that have developed long-term respiratory problems as a result of contracting the virus, the Respiratory Care Action Plan will play a key role in responding to the implications and consequences for many aspects of respiratory care going forward, including pulmonary rehabilitation.

We have also developed and published the ‘Framework for supporting people through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic’. This is now in its implementation stage and its priorities will link to future work to support people living with a respiratory condition. The Framework can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/framework-supporting-people-through-recovery-rehabilitation-during-covid-19-pandemic/ .

Under sections 15 and 87 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, Scottish Ministers must approve the deployment of Scottish Police Officers when they are delivering training overseas.

Any future work with the Sri Lankan Police Service is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. Police Scotland has not delivered training specifically for Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force.