- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to raise awareness among the public of the risks of choking during consensual sexual activity.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans for specific public health awareness raising relating to the risks associated with choking during consensual sexual activity. Through our existing channels we will explore opportunities to discuss these matters and to identify possible areas for this to be highlighted, including the new sexual health website for Scotland, which is currently being developed.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether Fife Council will be given assistance under the Bellwin Scheme.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2024
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) international standards and (b) training accreditations are currently met by community first responders trained by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Answer
New volunteers must undertake a 4-day mandatory training programme and assessment, aligned to a clinically assured Scope of Practice, prior to becoming an active CFR. The course is delivered in-house by SAS that aims to equip volunteers for their role.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to the Scottish Ambulance Service on the objectives of its community first responders programme.
Answer
Scottish Ambulance Service see volunteers as a key part of its 2030 strategy, there is an emphasis on working collaboratively with communities to improve population health, enhance the resilience of communities and deliver high quality emergency care for patients. Community First Responders are an integral component of this approach.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what role existing first responder groups have in assisting the Scottish Ambulance Service response in rural areas of the Mid Scotland and Fife region.
Answer
Community First Responders (CFRs) are highly valued by the Scottish Ambulance Service and are a dedicated and valuable asset to the communities they serve across Scotland including Mid Scotland and Fife. They form an integral part of the Service’s response, especially but not solely, to Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCA)
CFRs are community-based volunteers that, subject to their availability, work to a clinically assured scope of practice to enhance and complement, but not replace, the emergency ambulance response within an agreed geographical area.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Ambulance Service began using the GoodSAM system, and what assessment has been made of its effectiveness.
Answer
The Scottish Ambulance Service started using the GoodSAM system in 2017 in a limited capacity – initially this was aimed at SAS clinicians to register. This was paused during the Covid-19 pandemic. Full implementation of GoodSAM, which was open to all, was launched in October 2022. Since this date, effectiveness has been measured based on month on month increase to both registrations and alerts accepted through it. Data modelling is now ongoing to establish how best to optimise the system for different parts of Scotland.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government within what radius of distance from an incident community first responders trained by the Scottish Ambulance Service are asked to assist.
Answer
Community First Responders generally respond to calls within a designated geographical area known as a polygon. The polygon is agreed between the Community First Responder scheme and the Scottish Ambulance Service. The size of the polygon may vary from scheme to scheme and will be dependent on factors such as geography, base location of volunteers, and predicted travel times.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the overall cost is of the GoodSAM system used by Scottish Ambulance Service.
Answer
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government with what types of emergency call community first responders trained by the Scottish Ambulance Service are trained to assist.
Answer
Community First Responders (CFRs) are trained to operate within a clinically approved Scope of Practice. CFRs can be asked to attend a range of urgent and emergency medical emergencies including cardiac arrests, chest pains, breathing difficulties, strokes, choking and other similar types of call where a local and quick response may be beneficial to complement the emergency response.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many community first responders have been trained by the Scottish Ambulance Service, to date, broken down by parliamentary region.
Answer
The Scottish Ambulance Service currently has around 900 Community First Responders. The number of Community First Responders trained by the Scottish Ambulance Service by SAS Operational Areas between April 2021 - March 2024:
| Region | |
Period | North | East | West | Total |
April 21 - March 22 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 41* |
April 22 - March 23 | 33 | 30 | 19 | 82 |
April 23 - March 24 | 56 | 63 | 66 | 185 |
| 123 | 95 | 90 | 308 |
*The focus in 2021-2022 was re-mobilisation of Community First Responders post Covid, therefore recruitment of new volunteers was limited.