Chamber and committees

I wrote to NHS National Services Scotland on 16 June 2023 to request that an evaluation of post COVID services (including long COVID clinics) in comparison to pathways in Scotland was added to the long COVID Strategic Network’s workplan for 2023-24. Consequently, the Strategic Network has contracted the University of Leeds to support the initial evaluation of long COVID services in Scotland.

The University of Leeds is currently the only institution in the UK evaluating long COVID services under the LOCOMOTION study, which includes NHS Highland as a pilot site. The University of Leeds also collaborates with ELAROS which has produced the C19-YRS digital tool which has been procured for use within NHS Scotland to monitor long COVID services. This partnership will also enable Scotland to benefit from the lessons already being learned from NHS England’s long COVID services.

As part of the evaluation, the University of Leeds will provide an: analysis of demand and capacity within Scotland’s long COVID services; analysis of longer-term outcomes for long COVID patients assessed within NHS Health Board services; and where possible, compare differences in service models.

All NHS Scotland Boards are providing support for children and young people with long COVID.

Assessment and initial investigation is being provided by local primary care teams, who can give advice and guidance about the management of symptoms and any potential treatment options for these in the first instance. Primary care clinicians can refer to occupational therapy and physiotherapy for further support where appropriate. In cases where referral to secondary care is required, children and young people may be referred to general paediatric services for investigation and management.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The National Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Specification (published in February 2020) and the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People: Principles and Standards of Care (published in September 2021), set out the levels of service that children, young people and families can expect across Scotland.

This includes nationally agreed referral criteria, a first engagement appointment for all those that meet the criteria, and personalised and meaningful signposting for all those that do not require treatment .

The National Specification for the delivery of Psychological Therapies and Interventions is also due to be published this month and will set out what patients can expect following a referral, and detail the whole system approach including early intervention options that services should offer.

As outlined in our response of 16 June 2023 to the COVID-19 Recovery Committee report on long COVID, I wrote to NHS National Services Scotland on 16 June 2023 to request implementation of a range of actions to support internal and external communication regarding activities being undertaken by the long COVID Strategic Network. NHS National Services Scotland has confirmed that these actions are in progress, and include the identification of an appropriate web solution to share priorities, key outputs, and meeting minutes.

The Scottish Government is represented on the Strategic Oversight Board of the long COVID Strategic Network. The Strategic Oversight Board provides oversight of the workplan and programme outcomes of the Strategic Network.

NHS Inform is Scotland’s national health information service. Its aim is to provide the people of Scotland with accurate and relevant information to help them make informed decisions about their own health and the health of the people they care for.

NHS Inform has a dedicated long COVID microsite for people with ongoing symptoms after Coronavirus, setting out key information and sources of support for people impacted by long COVID.

This information is publicly accessible at www.nhsinform.scot/long-covid and comes in a variety of different languages and accessible formats to provide clear and accessible guidance to people living with long COVID on managing their symptoms.

The Scottish Government is contacted by a wide range of organisations and individuals on various policy issues, and we are committed to ensuring everyone in our society can live with dignity and enjoy their rights in full. Within mental health, we work closely with a range of human rights and equalities bodies through the Mental Health Equality and Human Rights Forum. This meets monthly and provides a space for human rights organisations to discuss and influence the development of mental health.

In addition, we have recently committed to establishing a Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme following on from the recommendations of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review, which considered how we could give further effect to human rights within mental health. The Programme will drive action to improve the way human rights are put into practice across mental health and incapacity law and policy, including care and treatment.

We have allocated £48.6 million of supplementary funding to Boards this year via the Mental Health Outcomes Framework to improve the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services for all. This is in addition to £36.7 million allocated to Health Boards via the Outcomes Framework in 2022-23, and the total package of core funding that Health Boards receive.

We recognise that not all children and young people need specialist services like CAMHS and that many can access more suitable support in their local community. This is why we are providing local authorities with £15m per annum to fund community-based mental health supports for children, young people and their families.

We have also invested £36m in our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults over two years, with approximately 3,300 grants being made to local organisations across Scotland. A further £15m committed in 23-24.

The new National Specification for the delivery of Psychological Therapies and Interventions is due to be published at the end of this month. It sets out what patients can expect following a referral and details the whole system approach including early intervention options that services should offer. This includes offers of evidence based digital therapies, which are accessed by around 5,000 people in Scotland annually.

The Scottish Government is making available funding of £3 million over this financial year to support NHS Boards to increase the capacity of existing services providing support to people with long COVID, develop these in to more clearly defined pathways and to provide a more co-ordinated experience for those accessing support.

The individual delivery models being utilised and progressed by NHS Boards will vary, as they are tailored to local circumstances and needs. For example, some NHS Boards have developed single points of access for assessment and co-ordinated support from services including physiotherapy and occupational therapy. In other areas, the co-ordination role will be fulfilled by the primary care team based in the person’s local GP surgery.

Patient care and service delivery are the statutory responsibility of local healthcare providers. NHS Boards are responsible for working with their partners to plan and provide health services which meet the needs of their populations.

When a patient has an experience that does not meet their expectations, they should contact their local Health Board at NHS Inform.

The Scottish Government remain committed to supporting all Boards to meet the standard that 90% of patients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral. We have allocated £48.6 million of supplementary funding to Boards this year via the Mental Health Outcomes Framework to improve the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services for all. This is in addition to the £36.7 million directly allocated to Health Boards via the Outcomes Framework in 2022-23, and to the total package of core funding that Health Boards receive.

Public Health Scotland produces a range of reports on sexual health data, which include breakdowns by demographic characteristics where this is appropriate and feasible. There are no imminent plans to change any of the demographics reported on in these publications.