- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether the expert group to identify the capacity needs of NHS boards and staff that it committed to establishing in Scotland's Long Covid Service has been created, and, if so, what work it has carried out.
Answer
The Scottish Government has commissioned National Services Division (NSD) to undertake a programme of activity to assist in identifying the capacity needs of NHS Boards and staff in delivering safe, effective and person-centred support for people with long COVID.
As part of this activity, a Short Life Working Group on managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 was set up. The Short Life Working Group identified the need to establish a Strategic Network to support the delivery of the policy framework outlined in ‘Scotland’s Long COVID Service’, which includes exploring how a care co-ordination model might be able to enhance the way in which primary, community and secondary care services work together in order to meet the needs of people living with complex needs as a result of long COVID.
The Strategic Network will then support experts, clinicians and lived experience and will have a key role in identifying and ensuring that the £10m long COVID Support Fund is targeted at areas where this additional resource is most needed and can make the biggest impact.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how the £10 million Long COVID Support Fund has been allocated since September 2021.
Answer
Identifying and ensuring that the £10m long COVID Support Fund is targeted at areas where this additional resource is most needed will make the biggest impact for those people with long COVID. That is why a Strategic Network is being set up to support the delivery of the policy framework outlined in ‘Scotland’s Long COVID Service’.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether someone who is operating a business from their home can legally refuse to allow a customer who is not wearing a face covering to enter their home.
Answer
We have published Coronavirus (COVID-19): face covering and masks guidance which includes information on wearing face covering and masks including exemptions. It is the responsibility of each individual business to apply the guidance to their own circumstances.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how it has raised awareness of Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s long COVID support service since its creation in February 2021.
Answer
We have invested more than £460,000 to enable Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland to deliver its long COVID Support Service. We have raised awareness of the service through:
- The Implementation Support Note which we have developed for clinicians supporting people with long-term effects of COVID-19 and has been disseminated to all NHS Boards. This resource includes information on the support available through Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s long COVID Support Service and how it can be accessed.
- The Decision Support Toolkit which was developed with the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre to incorporate key information from the Implementation Support Note, including details of Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s long COVID Support Service, https://www.signdecisionsupport.uk/ . Available via both a web-based platform and a mobile app, the toolkit presents clinicians with current evidence and helpful recommendations on assessment, investigations and referral, planning care, management and follow up for people experiencing long-term effects of COVID-19.
- The NHS Inform website which provides information, guidance and signposting for patients experiencing long-term effects of COVID-19.
- Our marketing campaign in October and November 2021 which included a marketing toolkit sent to more than 3,000 contacts across the NHS and third sector. This marketing toolkit contained information on Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s long COVID Support Service.
We are committed to ensuring that this service can be easily accessed by those who wish to do so, and we will continue to work with Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland to support this as appropriate.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how the £40,000 that it committed to delivering a targeted marketing campaign relating to long COVID, in conjunction with community pharmacies, has been allocated.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to providing clear information and support for people with long COVID. To help raise awareness of symptoms and signpost people to appropriate support, a marketing campaign ran in October and November 2021. The campaign budget was invested in: print and production of campaign posters for display in community pharmacies and GP surgeries across Scotland, language translations, social media posts and a campaign toolkit sent to 250 direct partner contacts with additional distribution of approximately 3,000 contacts.
The campaign directed people to the long COVID microsite hosted by NHS Inform, accessible at www.nhsinform.scot/long-covid . The microsite had nearly 86,000 users during the campaign period.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what professional roles in primary care have been expanded through the Primary Care Improvement Fund in order to help people with long COVID.
Answer
In 2021-22 our investment in support of General Practice of £155 million (through the Primary Care Improvement Fund) demonstrates the Scottish Government’s ongoing commitment to the development of multi-disciplinary teams to support general practice. This investment will free up GP and GP practice staff time to focus on complex care in the community, including treating patients with long COVID. On top of this we have made additional winter funding available to Health Boards to allow the recruitment of extra Primary Care pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists and other MDT staff.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in implementing a Once For Scotland rehabilitation plan for long COVID patients.
Answer
Following the publication of the Framework for supporting people through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 , the rehabilitation programme has undertaken a significant scoping exercise through a self-assessment tool to understand the current status of rehabilitation services in Scotland, from the perspective of the staff working in them.
The report on the findings ( Rehabilitation Framework Self-Assessment Tool: Analysis of Survey Responses ) was published on 9th December 2021.
The findings from the self-assessment tool, along with demand and capacity data and guidance from the National Advisory Board on Rehabilitation, will inform the development of a national programme of improvement work to deliver a ‘Once for Scotland’ rehabilitation pathway that will ensure everyone who requires rehabilitation will be able to access it.
We will continue to work with NHS Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships and the third sector to deliver this.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how the £2.5 million that it committed to in the publication, Scotland's Long COVID Service, to support nine research projects relating to long COVID, has been allocated.
Answer
Details (including individual project funding allocations) of the 9 research projects funded through the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) long-term effects of COVID-19 infection call are available from the CSO website Long Covid Call – Chief Scientist Office (scot.nhs.uk) .
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £10 million Long COVID Support Fund has been spent since September 2021.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04072 on 22 November 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2021
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 23 December 2021
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 23 December 2021
