Question reference: S5W-28632
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 22 April 2020
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Current status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 May 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what improvements and changes were made to community and national influenza pandemic preparedness between the completion of its training exercise, Silver Swan, in 2015 and January 2020, and on what dates pandemic response plans were (a) reviewed and (b) updated during this period to ensure that the lessons learned during the exercise were incorporated.
Answer
A range of improvements and changes were made to local and national influenza pandemic preparedness arrangements since the multi-agency exercise Silver Swan in 2015 and up to January 2020. These are reflected in documents relevant to a pandemic response which have been updated during that period, including:
- Local and regional pandemic response plans which have been kept under review and updated at various points since 2015
- The NHS Standards for Organisational Resilience were published in 2016 and reviewed in 2018
- Guidance on dealing with mass fatalities in Scotland was revised in 2017
- Good Practice Guidance For Setting Up And Managing Body Storage Facilities was issued in 2017
- Guidance on death certification during a pandemic was revised in 2017
- The Scottish Risk Assessment was issued in 2018
- National pandemic response and guidance documentation for health and social care was updated and issued for consultation in 2019.
- Pandemic Influenza Guidance for Infection Prevention and Control was updated in 2019
- Pandemic Influenza Communications Guidance was issued to stakeholders in Scotland in 2019