Chamber and committees

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.

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 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 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.

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

Schools and local authorities retain the main responsibility for arranging remote learning for those who need to shield, self-isolate or quarantine. In order to broaden the options available to schools the national e-learning offer provides access to live lessons, recorded lessons and online learning and teaching materials across the Broad General Education and the Senior Phase. https://education.gov.scot/improvement/national-e-learning-offer/

Similarly, schools and authorities are responsible for providing direct advice and support to parents and carers on how to support their child’s learning. In order to complement and support the advice from schools and authorities, the Scottish Government’s Parent Club website provides advice on working from home whilst caring for children, advice on helping children with remote and blended learning as well as links to additional learning resources from third sector organisations which can help to complement the learning activities and advice provided by schools. https://www.parentclub.scot/topics/coronavirus/learning-at-home?age=0. Parent Club also includes tailored advice to parents who are supporting children and young people with additional support needs

https://www.parentclub.scot/articles/supporting-children-and-young-people-with-additional-support-needs

Education Scotland’s Scotland Learns website also provides learning resources and advice and support to parents and carers via online newsletters.

https://education.gov.scot/improvement/scotland-learns/ In addition, the National Parent Forum of Scotland have developed “Nutshell” advice pamphlets on “Learning at Home During Lockdown” and Online Safety. https://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/edd/2020/05/NPFS_learning-at-home_E.pdf and

https://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/edd/2020/05/NPFS_online_safety_E.pdf

The Scottish Government guidance on Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in schools is clear that support for continued learning should be in place for those who are unable to attend school due to shielding or other covid related absence.

The strategic framework and the guidance on reducing the risks in schools set out that at Protection Levels 3 and 4 there are additional considerations for pupils who may be at highest clinical risk. At protection level 4 a pupil will have been advised via a letter from the Chief Medical Officer if shielding is appropriate. The schools guidance is clear that a pupil who has been asked to shield may attend school if an individualised risk assessment is completed, including consultation with the child’s secondary care (hospital) clinical team, which has enabled appropriate arrangements to be put in place for them to do so. In the circumstances where a child or young person is unable to attend school due to shielding or school closure, as a result of Covid-19, school health services and therapeutic support will be continued where appropriate mitigations can be made to ensure the safety of pupils, staff and families. This will be reflected in the guidance for schools in due course.

The Scottish Government Guidance on Coronavirus (COVID-19): shielding advice and support and Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in schools are clear on the arrangements for the attendance at school for those shielding at protection level 4. This includes that following an individualised risk assessment, taking account of clinical advice, those on the shielding list may be able to attend school if appropriate arrangements can be made. The guidance does not make any requirements of the siblings of shielding pupils in relation to their attendance at school.

The strategic framework is clear that it is for individuals to make informed decisions about the risks and how to balance the benefits of protection with quality of life. There is no requirement to distance from family members, or for family members not to attend school.