Chamber and committees

Further to my response to the answer to question S5W-29789 on 18 June 2020, I can advise that the Scottish Government’s position on the creation of a Commissioner for Older People has not changed.

I would refer to the process which led to the establishment of the Commissioner for Children and Young People. This role was established by the Parliament and is accountable to Parliament. It would therefore be for the Scottish Parliament to explore if there is now a need for a Commissioner for Older People, and if they deem it so, what the roles and responsibilities of a Commissioner would be.

We have consulted and been advised by the Older People’s Strategic Action Forum throughout the pandemic to ensure that we hear first-hand, the emerging issues that might be affecting older people, and to ensure that our response clearly reflects the priorities that have been identified. We know that older people have been adversely affected by restrictions put in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus and I recognise that the recent additional restrictions will feel even more of a challenge for many. That is why we have dedicated over £1.16 million to older people’s organisations to enable them to increase the provision of advice and support to older people and their families across Scotland, not only through helplines but also wider services, and why we continue extensive engagement with our stakeholders.

Our commitment to improve the lives of older people in Scotland remains and the importance of our strategy ‘A Fairer Scotland for Older People – A Framework for Action’ is key to our way forward.

The Scottish Government is aiming to vaccinate more people than ever before. In total, the Scottish Government is aiming to vaccinate 2.4 million people, which is an increase of 800,000 vaccines from last year’s programme. Further details in the following table.

Those most at risk from the seasonal flu are already eligible to receive the vaccine for free. This includes:

• Those aged 65 and over,
• Those who have an underlying health condition which increases risk,
• Pregnant women,
• Health care workers,
• Young and unpaid carers
• Children aged 2-5 (not yet at school), and
• Primary school children.

The Scottish Government is expanding the seasonal flu vaccine to the following groups this year:

• Front line social care workers
• Household members of those shielding
• 55-64 year-olds

Our home care workers are on the frontline of our national pandemic response and their work is hugely valued and it is crucial that they are able to access testing with results provided in a timely manner. Anyone with symptoms can access a test through our test sites or by ordering a home test kit.

However, the current test for Covid-19 is highly effective at detecting the virus in individuals with symptoms but less effective for asymptomatic individuals. As set out in our Testing Strategy, our approach to testing, including prioritisation, is flexible and adaptable to the prevailing conditions of the pandemic – we constantly keep our testing policy under review so that it is up to date with scientific and clinical advice.

Testing provides a point in time assessment of whether a person has the infection and should not be seen as a substitute for a strong emphasis on symptomatic staff immediately self-isolating and arranging testing, use of appropriate PPE, physical distancing, environmental optimisation and decontamination and good social hygiene.

Public Health Scotland have produced guidance to support staff and users of supported living accommodation which can be found here: https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/web-resources-container/covid-19-information-and-guidance-for-social-community-
and-residential-care-settings/

To ensure patients are seen in the most appropriate clinical environment for their healthcare need, we have set up a group made up of clinical and operational leaders to provide leadership to the redesign of urgent care.

The key elements of the programme will be in place by winter to provide safe access to care and manage more patients more effectively closer to their home based on COVID 19 learning. We will continue to monitor this and support ongoing work to further improve care over the next 18 months

We are working with Health Boards and NHS 24 to assess what additional capacity and resource is required to implement this new approach in time for winter.

I will provide further details to the Parliament after the October Recess.

We aim to publish Scotland’s Data Strategy for Health & Social Care around March 2021 and aim to have developed a refresh of the Digital Heath & Care Strategy by the end of 2020.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I can confirm that, as at 8 October, there have been 35 individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. This has been across 8 establishments. Where the number is less than 10, this has been marked as

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

COVID-19 testing is already available for all those living and working in prisons in Scotland presenting with symptoms.

Where an individual in custody displays symptoms of Covid-19, they are required to self-isolate and take a test. NHS Health Boards have tested those in custody who are showing signs of Covid-19 since 25 May 2020/ Early testing of those in custody who present as symptomatic ensures there is no unnecessary requirement to hold someone in isolation for a prolonged period.

In line with public health advice, any SPS staff member who displays symptoms of Covid-19 is also required to self-isolate and are advised to take a test. SPS staff access to testing was introduced in April 2020 and, as key workers, staff may be tested by local NHS Health Boards or they can access National Testing Centres through the key staff portal.

The Scottish Government is not planning to introduce regular testing of asymptomatic people in prisons. Taking the test when an individual has had no symptoms is often not helpful – it cannot exclude the possibility that the virus is present.

The COVID-19 tests we use in Scotland work by detecting evidence of the virus in a person’s nose or throat sample. These tests cannot tell us whether or not someone is incubating the disease, but only if the virus is present at the time when they are tested. This means that testing is a single point in time assessment of whether a person may be infectious but it cannot tell us whether a person is going to become ill in the future.

Recruitment data for Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 is published on the Scottish Government website ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/mental-health-workers-quarterly-performance-reports/ ). The last publication provides data as of 1 January 2020. In response to Covid-19, quarterly reports were postponed. We are now assessing the position as of 1 July 2020 and will publish that information shortly.

We have been deliberately seeking to build winter capacity as we know demand will increase as people come forward with COVID-like symptoms over the winter months, in addition to the temporary demand increases such as those we’ve seen from local outbreaks and schools and universities returning.

We have continued to build our own NHS capacity throughout this pandemic and additional hubs will rapidly increase our lab capacity, allowing us to migrate testing to the NHS system and away from the UK Lighthouse network.

We have also been taking forward plans to expand existing capacity by:

• Deploying additional mobile testing units

•Increasing the number of tests that can be carried out at regional testing centres

•Utilising additional NHS testing capacity, for example by activating additional drive-through facilities

Furthermore, on 28 August the First Minister announced plans to create 22 walk through test centres across the country, with 11 being operational by the end of October and the rest over winter.

However, testing is only one effective intervention that we are using to manage the virus and it remains vital that people continue to follow physical distancing advice and practice good hand and cough hygiene not just for their own safety but in order to protect others.