Question reference: S6W-05094
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 13 December 2021
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022
Question
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.