Chamber and committees

Scottish Ministers’ expectation remains that care for pregnant and postnatal women continues to be an essential service, and it is right that Health Boards should plan for these services to continue alongside other essential services during this unprecedented time. Their expectation is also that midwives, obstetricians and the wider maternity and neonatal workforce should not normally be redeployed out with these settings for the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Any decisions taken about the deployment of obstetrics and gynaecology staff within NHS Scotland services are the responsibility of relevant Health Boards.

The Scottish Government has confirmed additional funding of £1.1 billion to support the health and social care sector in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding announcement provides support for the additional costs reported by Boards in responding to COVID-19, including additional staffing and equipment costs included in Local Mobilisation Plans. Detail on how this funding has been used to specifically support virtual pulmonary rehabilitation services, and to supplement existing baseline spend on respiratory services, would require to be requested from NHS Boards.

Detail on funding for each NHS Board area is set out in response to question S5W-32107 on 29 September 2020. Further funding will be made available in the coming months following our ongoing reviews of financial implications across the sector . 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 .

The Seasonal Flu Immunisation Programme helps to protect the most vulnerable and alleviate pressure on the NHS. This is more important than ever this year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those most at risk from the seasonal flu, who are already eligible to receive the vaccine are:

• Those aged 65 and over,
• Those who have an underlying health condition,
• Pregnant women,
• Health care workers,
• Young and unpaid carers,
• children aged 2-5 (not yet at school), and
• primary school pupils.

This year the Scottish Government expanded free eligibility for the seasonal flu vaccine to include:

• social care workers who provide direct personal care;
• household members of individuals who are shielding; and
• all those aged 60-64 (who are not already eligible) and with the intention to further expand to 59-55.

With the expansion some occupations, such as health and social care workers are entitled to the free seasonal flu vaccine, this is because they come into contact with a higher proportion of people who are vulnerable to the seasonal flu. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, there is pressure on the global supply of seasonal flu vaccine and those at the greatest clinical risk must continue to be prioritised. Therefore school staff who are at higher risk from flu will already be eligible to receive their flu vaccination and will be contacted by their Health Board letting them know where they will receive the vaccine and how to book their appointment.

The Scottish Government does not hold information in this form.

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board provides strategic leadership of a £50m investment in perinatal and infant mental health. Within this, services directly towards infants aged 0 to 3 years are being developed across Scotland. Over £800,000 has been invested in infant mental health this financial year.

NHS Boards draw funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) from the overall health and social care funds allocated to them by the Scottish Government. Boards work with the Integration Joint Boards in their area and other partners to ensure funding decisions reflect local and national priorities for the delivery of person-centred, safe and effective mental health services.

Detail on mental health spending and the NHS budget is made available each year as part of the annual NHS Costs Book publication and the Scottish Budget, this includes CAMHS expenditure data by NHS Board. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26493, which details this expenditure from 2011 until 2019. The 2019-20 data is expected to be published on 19 January 2021. However, CAMHS expenditure data is not available broken down by age.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government or Public Health Scotland. It may be available on request from individual health boards.

Safety of staff in schools is paramount. Teachers are entitled to feel safe at work and we expect schools and local authorities to make sure appropriate arrangements are in place for them.

Our latest guidance on reducing coronavirus (COVID-19) risks in schools, published on 30 th October, says schools and local authorities should follow the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists advice to try to keep the risk of exposure as low as is practically possible to pregnant women, particularly in the third trimester. Normal pregnancy risk assessments should also be undertaken, and appropriate attention paid to mental health and wellbeing.

We are working with local authorities to keep implementation of the guidance under review, and where there is a need to take further action, we will work with staff, trade unions and local authorities to do so.

The NHS Louisa Jordan was established to help ensure NHS Scotland had extra capacity to treat patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and stood ready to do so since 20 April 2020. Building the NHS Louisa Jordan was a precautionary action and I was always clear that I hoped it would never be needed to treat a COVID patient. The NHS Louisa Jordan has not been required to treat COVID-19 patients because of efforts made to suppress the virus. If required, the hospital continues to remain ready to accept COVID-19 patients at a few days’ notice.

Since 1 November dentists have been permitted to offer the full range of NHS care in surgeries. With the resumption, dentists providing NHS care are required to submit claims for items of treatment undertaken to National Services Scotland. This information will be used to monitor the impact on current service provision.

The diagnosis of oral cancer is monitored through hospital data. The patient pathway for oral cancer was maintained throughout the pandemic. Despite a reduction in dental services on account of the COVID-19 outbreak ensuring that people have access to cancer services has always remained a priority. Dental practices have continued to triage patients during the pandemic and, in accordance with the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) guidelines, refer patients with symptoms of oral cancer for urgent assessment.

We are actively engaging with cancer charities across Scotland, with many involved in discussions regarding shielding and the drafting of the upcoming National Cancer Recover Plan. Alongside this, various charities are a member of the Scottish Screening Committee and the National Cancer Trials Resilience Group.

The Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme (CTRSP) opened for applications on 21 September and will run until March 2021. Over three hundred applications have been received to date and these are currently being assessed by our partners. By the end of this week (6 Nov) a total of 22 Organisations will be in receipt of grants totalling over £410,000 with a further 25 Organisations currently receiving Business Advice through the Adapt and Thrive Programme.

The Adapt and Thrive Programme aims to support organisational change, it offers tailored, specialist advice, as well as grants between £5 and £25k. Loans of £25K+ are also available.

Third Sector Organisations need to adapt to the challenges presented by COVID, to ensure that they continue to have a positive impact in their communities. Working with an advisor, organisations will be supported to develop a plan to operate sustainably post-COVID. This may mean developing new income streams, restructuring the organisation, or changing how services are delivered.

The contribution from community and third sector organisations has been an essential part of how communities have responded to the pandemic, the connections and partnerships made will continue to play an important role in recovery. Communities Recovery Fund aims to support either the delivery of community services that were suspended or reduced because of COVID, or the creation of new services that tackle new challenges presented by COVID.

The fund will offer grants to enable organisations to reintroduce the delivery of services, adapt existing services or the develop new services to tackle new or exacerbated needs resulting from COVID.