Chamber and committees

Clinical guideline implementation is the responsibility of NHS Boards. The ultimate decision about a particular clinical procedure or treatment will always depend on each individual patient’s condition, circumstances and wishes, and the clinical judgement of the healthcare team.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards and clinicians to adhere to current guidelines to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment of chronic kidney disease in accordance with authoritative sources such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the UK Kidney Association (UKKA).

The identification, assessment and management of people with long-term effects of COVID-19 in Scotland is guided by the recommendations of an evidence-based UK-wide clinical guideline developed by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Royal College of GPs (RCGP).

We have worked with specialist clinicians in different disciplines to develop an 'Implementation Support Note' for healthcare professionals, which is intended to accompany and support delivery of the clinical guideline in Scotland. This has been shared with all NHS Boards and is accessible on the SIGN website .

We’ve also supported the development of the SIGN Decision Support platform, which provides healthcare professionals with an integrated point of access to the information from both the clinical guideline and the Implementation Support Note, on a web based platform and mobile app. In addition, NHS Education for Scotland’s learning platform ‘Turas’ contains video and webinar content on long COVID.

GPs and Allied Health Professions may also access information and training resources through relevant professional bodies. For example, the Royal College of GPs has an e-learning course on long COVID, which aims to teach people how to describe the various presentations of long COVID, understand the current guidance and the impact that long COVID has on patients. Additionally, the Royal College of Occupational Therapists has also produced resources, which can be accessed at: Post-COVID Syndrome (Long Covid) - RCOT .

Hospitals are expected to provide parents with access to accommodation on site if needed. In addition the Young Patients Family Fund provides reimbursement for costs of travel, subsistence and accommodation for the eligible parents, carers and/or siblings (aged under 18) of child inpatients. In the previous two financial years more than £3.7M was paid to families visiting children in hospital via the fund. More information about the fund, including how to apply can be found on the Scottish Government website Young Patients Family Fund - mygov.scot

The long COVID National Strategic Network managed by NHS National Services Scotland has developed a draft education strategy following consultation with people living with long COVID and those responsible for planning and delivering healthcare services. This is due to be considered during forthcoming meetings of the Network’s Steering Group and Strategic Oversight Board in Autumn 2023 for consideration and sign off.

Aligned with the draft strategy, the Strategic Network is actively implementing a range of activity to support the information and learning needs of healthcare professionals working to support people living with long COVID. For example;

• The Network is working with Public Health Scotland to disseminate regular bulletins providing a summary of recent relevant research and evidence on long COVID.

• The Network has implemented a programme of Peer Network sessions, providing education on topics suggested by members and the opportunity to seek support from peers and share good practice. Three sessions have been facilitated to date, including focus on chronic pain management and dysfunctional breathing.

• The Network has facilitated two information sharing sessions with researchers leading Chief Scientist Office (CSO) funded research on long COVID, to enable them to engage with NHS colleagues across Scotland who are developing and delivering support and services for people with long COVID.

• The Network has facilitated practice sharing events with those delivering support for people living with long COVID elsewhere in the UK. This has included a presentation and Q&A session from Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s Long COVID Community Rehabilitation Service team.

The Strategic Network continues to engage with a range of clinical stakeholders and stakeholder organisations to raise awareness of the Network and its outputs, including NHS Education for Scotland, and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on‎ 14 August 2023. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on 14 August 2023. 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

We urge anyone with a nicotine addiction caused by using tobacco or nicotine vapour products to contact the free NHS Quit Your Way Scotland' helpline on 0800 84 84 84 to speak to an advisor, who will be able to provide advice and support and can direct individuals to local support services.

Alternatively, local pharmacies can also offer a range of therapies and interventions to help reduce addiction.

There has been no female high secure provision in Scotland since 2009. The decision to stop providing treatment was because the majority of women at the time did not in fact require high security and the development of medium secure services provided an opportunity to address that.

In the small number of cases where a female does require high security, an arrangement was put in place whereby a woman who requires treatment in a high secure facility can be referred to Rampton Hospital, Nottinghamshire, and transferred via the statutory cross-border transfer process.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on‎ 14 August 2023. 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