Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government raised awareness of World COPD Day through our social media channels and key stakeholder networks.

COPD is a priority for the Scottish Government and we are committed to ensuring that those people living with long term lung conditions are able to access the best possible person-centred care treatment and support.

Our Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland will set out the main priorities to support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of respiratory conditions including COPD.

180,784 participants had their cervical screening test delayed due to the pause of the screening programmes in 2020 of which (a) 29,362 have attended for a test and (b) 99,716 have yet to receive their invitation for a screening appointment. These figures include women who receive more frequent screening appointments, who were first to receive their invitations to cervical screening following the restart.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact that COVID-19 has had on people living with cerebral palsy and we recognise the importance of a consistent approach being taken forward in the community to support people with the management of their condition, including cerebral palsy across Scotland accessing the right support and services.

The pandemic has clearly impacted on the NHS but we are resuming services as quickly and safely as possible. NHS Boards have mobilised their activity including protecting critical neurological services and establishing mechanisms to support their local population including the use of telephone and video consultations to minimise face to face contact unless absolutely necessary.

The Scottish Centre of Technology for the Communication Impaired (SCTCI) is one way the services have adapted, SCTCI delivers an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tertiary service across 11 NHS Boards, which includes NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde service have continued to operate their open referral system throughout the pandemic and have adapted their service delivery methods to ensure compliance with national and local restrictions while continuing to establish and maintain contact with those who need support.

We are already taking action to support those experiencing the longer physical and mental health impacts of COVID-19 – with our NHS delivering care tailored to the individual needs of people experiencing ongoing effects.

Work is underway to establish the National Advisory Board for Rehabilitation to implement the Framework for Supporting People through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic . The Framework is aligned to the Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design: the framework for NHS Scotland , and puts in place clear principles, priorities and objectives to support planning to meet increasing demand and to provide high quality person-centred rehabilitation in different settings.

The issue arose in an automated process to transfer files between the third party IT and letter suppliers, which prevented the letters being issued. The root cause of this failure is still being investigated. Daily checks have since been implemented to ensure information is transferred and received as expected.

NHS National Services Scotland have worked closely with Health Boards to ensure sample taking locations are supported to prioritise affected participants without impacting existing services. Where necessary, additional funding has been provided to enable this, for example to allow running additional clinics.

Twenty three ultra-low temperature freezers capable of the storage of medicines at ultra-low temperatures have been purchased.

There is at least one freezer in every territorial health board with a number of Boards having more than one freezer, for example three freezers are being located in NHS Highland because of the Board’s geography. The vaccines are packed in multi-dose vials which minimises the amount of storage space required.

The new five level framework for COVID 19 allows for rapid but proportionate response on both a local and national basis using a transparent range of measures and options. https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework/ A summary of this publication is available in BSL, Mandarin, Gaelic, Arabic, and Polish, as well as Easy Read and audio versions .

We encourage people to adapt this advice to make it right for them. It is a personal decision how to balance the benefits of protection with quality of life. To do this in practice, people told us they needed information about infection rates in local communities, level of risk specific to their health conditions, and how to manage risks on a day to day basis.

We are therefore providing information, advice and tools to enable and empower those who are clinically most at risk to make decisions about their day to day interactions and activities including:

• Data on neighbourhood infection levels
• Advice on specific clinical conditions
• Information on high and low risk activities
• Workplace risk assessments
• Information on how to shop and undertake other activities safely

Various methods used to make as many people as possible aware of the guidance and support available to them.

• The Scot.gov website contains the most up to date information and is highlighted in written communication from the Chief Medical Officer to those on the shielding list. Information is regularly.

• The Public Health Scotland website also provides a detailed cases by local neighbourhood map of areas that allow people to check in on the number of cases in their area.

• People are directed to the website and other support by means of television and radio adverts. We also suggest that people watch the daily briefings of the First Minister to keep up to date with developments

• We ask that people keep checking the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-shielding/ and https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-what-you-can-and-cannot-do/pages/healthcare/ for the most up to date information.
• People can call the national helpline on 0800 111 4000. The helpline is open Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.

• National mailings, sent via Royal Mail, are sent in one format but we signpost additional languages/formats which are available within it. As part of this information a QR code was supplied to make for easier access to these formats

• For example, several areas of key information and guidance are available in an accessible format for the visually impaired.

• We are also working with stakeholders to signpost and disseminate this information within their communities, to ensure that individuals with language or communication requirements are aware that there is guidance available in a format they can access.

From the outset of the pandemic maternity and neonatal care has been recognised as an essential acute, integrated and community service, providing both scheduled and unscheduled care. Midwives, obstetricians and the wider maternity and neonatal workforce have continued to provide care for pregnant women, babies and families throughout the pandemic.

To support professionals, the Scottish Government issued guidance to Health Boards and Social Care Partnerships for delivery of Maternity, Neonatal and Health Visiting Services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which set out the minimum standard of care expected, relevant to the local protection level, and to maintain services for women and families.

From the outset of the pandemic we have provided clear, evidence based information for pregnant women and new parents both online in Ready Steady Baby, via Parent Club, and through information leaflets. In addition we have delivered a free-to-access online antenatal education package, and pushed forward a new home monitoring initiative and rapidly up scaled the of use of ‘Near Me’ technology in maternity and newborn services, all of which have enabled care to be delivered as close to home as possible and minimised the need for hospital attendance. We have also ensured continued provision of high quality infant feeding support to new mums.

COVID-19 transmission is taking place in the community and – as is the case with any infectious disease – transmission is more likely where people are in closed settings, including within hospitals. As a result, we are seeing a rise of definite hospital onset cases.

Health Boards, supported by expert advice from the COVID-19 Nosocomial Review Group (CNRG) established by the Scottish Government in May, are implementing a range of measures to minimise the risk of coronavirus transmission in hospitals. Based on the latest infection prevention and control guidance from National Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland, these measures include:

- the appropriate use of PPE,

- extended use of face masks and coverings

- physical distancing,

- outbreak management,

- risk assessed patient care pathways to help guide the implementation of measures for safe and effective care, and

- staff and patient testing

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have and continue to work hard to ensure IPC measures in hospital and other care settings are robust.

The Scottish Government recognises that pulmonary rehabilitation is an important element of respiratory disease care and that is why it will form an important part of our Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland.

As we head into winter, our overriding priority is to keep people safe, including in their homes and in healthcare settings. The NHS remains open with public health measures in place to protect patients and staff.

In terms of accessing pulmonary rehabilitation at this time, the My COPD app contains a pulmonary rehabilitation section and many charities provide support to people living with long-term lung conditions. For example, the British Lung Foundation provides exercise videos designed for people living with COPD.

We advise anyone who has any concerns regarding their COPD to contact their GP or clinical team. They will be best placed to provide specific advice and support based on individual circumstances.

The Scottish Government supports the World Health Organizations strategy to accelerate the elimination of Cervical Cancer.

On 17 November 2020, two Scottish Government buildings, St Andrews House and Victoria Quay, were lit up in support of this cause.

We will continue to take steps towards achieving the strategy’s aims, with uptake of our HPV vaccination programme already high, it achieves 85.4% for both doses, and exceeds 90% for the first dose by the end of S3 in secondary schools. A recent study in the BMJ showed that the levels of cancer-causing HPV in Scotland had dropped by almost 90% in young women, demonstrating the significant and continued benefits of our vaccination programme.

Additionally, in March we introduced HPV testing as our primary test for cervical cancer – the test is offered to all women aged 25-64.