- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 2 December 2020
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) psychiatrists, (b) psychologists, (c) primary mental health workers and (d) psychological therapists it considers should be in post in NHS (i) Grampian, (ii) Highland, (iii) Orkney, (iv) Shetland and (v) Eileanan Siar in order to meet current demand.
Answer
The Scottish Government provides the policies, frameworks and resources for high quality healthcare. It is for each NHS Board to decide best how to utilise funding, facilities and staff while taking account of national and local priorities to meet local health needs.
The Scottish Government published the first Integrated National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan in the UK in December 2019. Developed in partnership with COSLA, the Integrated Workforce Plan sets out how health and social care services will meet growing demand to ensure the right numbers of staff, with the right skills, across health and social care services:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-health-social-care-integrated-workforce-plan/ .
Guidance to support local workforce planning was published alongside the Integrated Workforce Plan. This Guidance outlines a requirement for NHS Boards to produce workforce plans which describe how their workforce will meet local service requirements:
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/
publication/2019/12/national-health-social-care-integrated-workforce-plan/documents/guidance/guidance/govscot%3Adocument/guidance.pdf .
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 December 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of news that the A83 Rest and Be Thankful will remain closed for longer than anticipated, whether the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity will be convening an urgent meeting of the A83 Taskforce.
Answer
A virtual meeting with A83 stakeholders was held on 18 November. The meeting provided an opportunity to update stakeholders on the ongoing events on the Rest and Be Thankful hillside and provide them with an opportunity to raise concerns about the ongoing impact of the A83 closure and the resilience of the Old Military Road diversion.
Transport Scotland will continue to keep stakeholders up to date with options for a permanent solution at the A83.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 26 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32489 by Joe FitzPatrick on 9 November 2020, how many (a) people aged 65 and over, (b) people who have an eligible health condition, (c) pregnant women and (d) healthcare workers are eligible for the flu vaccination, also broken down by how many have received the vaccination to date.
Answer
The expanded flu vaccination programme began on 1 October. The eligible cohorts for the flu vaccination and the working planning assumptions are detailed in the table below.
Scottish Government officials are working closely with Health Boards to monitor vaccine uptake amongst eligible cohorts. A weekly report on seasonal influenza activity in Scotland is published on the Public Health Scotland website: https://publichealthscotland.scot/downloads/weekly-national-seasonal-respiratory-report-18-november-2020/
Category | Eligible Cohort | Working Planning Assumptions | vaccinated |
number | % | number | % |
65 years and over | 1064075 | 798056 | 75% | data collection started |
At Risk | 782711 | 587033 | 75% |
Carers | 47463 | 35597 | 75% |
Pregnant without risk | 34871 | 26153 | 75% |
pre-school | 141157 | 91752 | 65% |
Primary School | 404763 | 303572 | 75% |
Healthcare Worker | 152021 | 91213 | 60% |
Social care Worker (new) | 133150 | 79890 | 60% |
55 to 64 year olds (new) | 674788 | 438612 | 65% |
Total | 3434999 | 2451879 | |
This data is provided by Public Health Scotland.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, based on scientific projections, how many fewer daily COVID-19 infections it expects to see by the end of October 2020 following the so-called circuit-breaker, and how this compares with the projected number if no further interventions were made.
Answer
The aim of the restrictions that are running from 9 October to 2 November are to suppress the growth in total infections. Predicting the exact effects of the restrictions on daily Covid-19 infections is difficult, though Scottish Government is closely monitoring changes in the epidemic on an ongoing basis. Data on estimated daily infections are published on the Scottish Government website each week.
Modelling data published on 7 October predicted infections would reach the March peak by the end of October, R would be significantly above one and the doubling time would be nine days. The reality at the end of October as a result of the Scottish population’s compliance to restrictions was daily infections between 7,100 and 18,400, R at 1.0 – 1.3 and a doubling time of 17-52 days.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, based on scientific projections, how many fewer hospital admissions it expects to see by the end of October 2020 following the so-called circuit-breaker, and how this compares with the projected number if no further interventions were made.
Answer
The aim of the restrictions running from 9 October to 2 November are to suppress the growth in total infections. Predicting the exact effects of the restrictions on hospital admissions is difficult, though Scottish Government is closely monitoring changes in the epidemic on an ongoing basis. Data on hospital admissions are published on the Scottish Government website each day. Modelling data published on 7 October predicted infections would reach the March peak by the end of October, R would be significantly above one and the doubling time would be nine days. The reality at the end of October as a result of the Scottish population’s compliance to restrictions was daily infections between 7,100 and 18,400, R at 1.0 – 1.3 and a doubling time of 17-52 days.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, based on scientific projections, what changes it expects to see to the doubling time rate of the COVID-19 virus by the end of October 2020 following the so-called circuit-breaker, and how this compares with the projected rate if no further interventions were made.
Answer
The aim of the restrictions that are running from 9 October to 2 November are to suppress the growth in total infections. Predicting the exact effects of the restrictions on doubling time is difficult, though Scottish Government is closely monitoring changes in the epidemic on an ongoing basis. Data on doubling time are published on the Scottish Government website each week ( https://www.gov.scot/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-the-epidemic/ ).
Modelling data published on 7 October predicted infections would reach the March peak by the end of October, R would be significantly above one and the doubling time would be nine days. The reality at the end of October as a result of the Scottish population’s compliance to restrictions was daily infections between 7,100 and 18,400, R at 1.0 – 1.3 and a doubling time of 17-52 days.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, based on scientific projections, how much lower it expects the COVID-19 R number will be by the end of October 2020 following the so-called circuit-breaker, and how this compares with the projected number if no further interventions were made.
Answer
The aim of the restrictions that are running from 9 October to 2 November are to suppress the growth in total infections. Predicting the exact effects of the restrictions on R number is difficult, though Scottish Government is closely monitoring changes in the epidemic on an ongoing basis. Data on the R number are published on the Scottish Government website each week ( https://www.gov.scot/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-the-epidemic/) .
Modelling data published on 7 October predicted infections would reach the March peak by the end of October, R would be significantly above one and the doubling time would be nine days. The reality at the end of October as a result of the Scottish population’s compliance to restrictions was daily infections between 7,100 and 18,400, R at 1.0 – 1.3 and a doubling time of 17-52 days.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 November 2020
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement that Scotland will host one of the two proposed COVID-19 "mega labs".
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2020
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 October 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce clear national guidance on the order in which priority groups should be invited for their flu vaccinations.
Answer
The flu vaccination programme officially began on 1 October, and a phased approach is being taken this year. The following groups are being vaccinated in Phase 1, and have been eligible for vaccination since 1 October:
- People aged 65 and over
- People who have an eligible health condition
- Pregnant women
- Healthcare workers
- Social care workers who provide direct personal care
- Household members of people who are shielding
- Young and unpaid carers
- Children aged 2-5 (and not yet at school)
- Primary school children
The majority of people in these groups have now received their invitations for the seasonal flu vaccine.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 October 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to ensuring that people in the highest priority groups all receive their flu vaccinations by the end of November 2020.
Answer
Health Boards are prioritising the vaccination of those at the greatest clinical risk as early as possible in flu season. The flu vaccination programme officially began on 1 October.
Those at the greatest clinical risk have been eligible to get the flu vaccination since the start of October and they will remain eligible throughout flu season. Health Boards plan to have vaccinated the majority of people in Phase 1 groups by the end of November, but it will be possible to receive the vaccine as late as the end of March 2021, to ensure that nobody who is at increased clinical risk is excluded because they were unable to attend an earlier appointment.
